piracy

[pahy-ruh-see]

noun

plural

piracies 

1. practice of a pirate; robbery or illegal violence at sea.

2. the unauthorized reproduction or use of a copyrighted book, recording, television program, patented invention, trademarked product, etc..

   The record industry is beset with piracy.

3. Also called stream capture. Geology.,  diversion of the upper part of one stream by the headward growth of another.

piracy

/ ˈpaɪrəsɪ /

noun

1. robbery on the seas within admiralty jurisdiction

2. a felony, such as robbery or hijacking, committed aboard a ship or aircraft

3. the unauthorized use or appropriation of patented or copyrighted material, ideas, etc

Other Word Forms

• antipiracy noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of piracy¹

1545–55; earlier pyracie < Medieval Latin pīrātīa < Late Greek peirāteía. See pirate, -acy

Word History and Origins

Origin of piracy¹

C16: from Anglo-Latin pirātia, from Late Greek peirāteia; see _pirate

Example Sentences

Russian President Vladimir Putin called the detention of the ship “piracy” and said the move was meant to distract from France’s difficult domestic political situation.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The 150 passengers hail from a wide-range of countries, including Turkey whose foreign ministry called the intervention "a grave violation of international law" and "an act of piracy".

Read more on BBC

His vision was to find a way to fight against music piracy by offering a platform where consumers could pay to stream music.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The region was once considered the world's most dangerous area for maritime piracy, surpassing the waters off Somalia.

Read more on BBC

ACE chairman Charles Rivkin said it was a "resounding victory in its fight to detect, deter, and dismantle criminal perpetrators of digital piracy".

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• copying www.thesaurus.com
• hijacking www.thesaurus.com
• infringement 
• plagiarism 
• theft