Meaning & use
loot bag
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountableAmerican
A small bag of candy and small gifts given to each child who comes to a birthday party.
Grammar: Countable: one loot bag, two loot bags; use an or the before it.
Patterns
- a loot bag for someone
- hand out loot bags
- fill a loot bag with something
Each child left the party carrying a loot bag full of candy and stickers.
My sister spent the whole morning filling loot bags for twenty noisy guests.
The loot bags were hidden in the kitchen so the children would not peek inside.
nouncountableinformal
A bag used for carrying away stolen goods or things taken by force.
Grammar: Countable and usually used with a possessive word such as their or his.
Patterns
- carry a loot bag
- stuff something into a loot bag
The thieves ran off with a loot bag stuffed with watches and rings.
Police found an empty loot bag behind the shop the next morning.
Word forms
| plural | loot bags |
|---|
Common combinations
- hand out loot bags
- The teacher handed out loot bags as the children were leaving.
- fill a loot bag with candy
- We filled each loot bag with candy, a pencil and a tiny toy.
- a loot bag for the guests
- She made a loot bag for every guest at the party.
- loot bag ideas
- I looked online for cheap loot bag ideas for a pirate party.
- open a loot bag
- The children could hardly wait to open their loot bags.
Synonyms and how they differ
- party bag
- The usual British term for the same thing; use it if your readers are in the UK.
- goody bag
- Very close in meaning and common in American English, though it is also used for free gifts given to adults at events.
- favor bag
- An American term, often used when the bag holds one small gift rather than a mix of candy and toys.
Word family
Commonly confused: loot bag or loot? loot bag or goody bag?
loot bag vs loot
Loot is the stolen goods themselves, not the bag; a loot bag is the container.
loot bag vs goody bag
A goody bag can be given to adults at a conference or wedding, but a loot bag belongs to a children's party.
Practice
Which sentence uses "loot bag" in the usual way for a children's party?
Choose one answer.
A loot bag in this everyday sense is the bag of treats given to children at a party, so option 2 fits. Option 1 uses the criminal sense, and options 3 and 4 describe ordinary bags, which we would call a lunch bag or a backpack.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “loot bag”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.