Make Your Point, Jr. > Words in ABC Order > ransack

Study the word RANSACK: (Source) To ransack a place is to search through it in a rough way, often because you're trying to find something, or you're just trying to break things and steal things. In How the Grinch Stole Christmas, the Grinch ransacks the houses in the village, stealing all the gifts, the food, and the decorations. (Source) (Source) If criminals ransack a store or a home, or if pirates ransack a town, that means they smash things up and steal whatever they can. (Source) Of course, ransacking is violent, and it's criminal. Well, actually, it's not a crime if the police are ransacking a home that they've gotten permission to search. But we can also use the word "ransack" more lightly. If I'm ransacking my sock drawer or ransacking my suitcase, then I'm making a mess of it as I try to find something in it. (Source) I might have to ransack my kitchen to find the cupcake liners. That means I'd open lots of drawers and lots of cabinets, throwing things aside, trying to find those cupcake liners. The guy in the gif below, for whatever reason, appears to be ransacking a briefcase full of pancakes. What do you think he's looking for? (Source) You might be wondering if the word "ransack" has anything to do with "sacks," especially since you might shove things into sacks as you steal them, like the Grinch did. Actually, those two words aren't related. "Ransack" comes from an Old Norse word, and it literally means "to search the house." Lastly, although ransacking is usually physical—usually something you do to a place—you can also ransack your brain for something, or ransack your memory for something. That means you're frantically looking around inside your head, trying to grab onto the idea that you're looking for. (Source)   Make a flash card: You can write your own definition and choose your own picture, or copy mine. Term Definition Picture ransack to tear through a place, stealing and damaging things; or, to make a huge mess of a place as you look for something   Write your own sentence! You can use either of the two ideas I'll suggest, or you can invent your own. Include as much detail as you can! (Source)   Write a sentence with the word RANSACK: Remember: to ransack a container (like a bag or a drawer) or to ransack a place (like a bedroom or a school) is to search through it in a rough, wild, messy way. Idea 1: "We saw the raccoons ransacking our garbage, pawing through the (something), tossing the (something) away, and running off into the bushes with (something)." Idea 2: "After I ransacked my (room, closet, backpack, desk, or other place or container), I finally found my (item of some kind)." You can type in here. When you're done, copy and paste your sentence wherever you'd like it to go.