Depredation

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /ËŒdÉ›pɹəˈdeɪʃən/

Origin

From Middle French déprédation.

Full definition of depredation

Noun

1. An act of consuming agricultural resources (crops, livestock), especially as plunder.
• 2003, The Living Elephants: Evolutionary Ecology, Behavior, and Conservation, by R. Sukumar, page 299:Depredation of cultivated crops by elephants is widespread in both Africa and Asia.
2. A raid or predatory attackUnion Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman had long known that his fragile supply and communication lines through Tennessee were in serious jeopardy because of depredations by Forrest's cavalry raids.()