Other forms: depredating; depredates; depradated
To depredate something is to plunder, pillage, rob, or lay waste to it. Pirates often depredated seized merchant vessels by stripping them of everything valuable, including chests of gold and valuable commodities.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, Caribbean pirates didn't just depredate ships; they frequently raided land targets, attacking coastal villages and port towns. They would ransack churches and town halls for silver chalices, gold crosses, and tax chests. They looted business warehouses and markets, and even private homes. The verb depredate is also used to describe armies or raiders destroying a countryside or town. In ecology and agriculture, it describes how some animals consume or damage crops, livestock, or ecosystems.