piracy

American  

[pahy-ruh-see] / ˈpaɪ rə si /

noun

• piracies
  plural

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.

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piracy British  

/ 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

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• antipiracy
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• piracies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of piracy

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

Explanation

Piracy is a what pirates do: they steal stuff. If you plagiarize by stealing someone's words or ideas that’s piracy. Argh! The original sense of piracy comes from pirates — thieves who hijack other boats, taking what they please. That should help you remember that piracy means to steal someone else's work, usually their words or ideas. A writer who doesn't cite their sources is committing piracy. Piracy is plagiarism, and it is legally and morally wrong.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

piracy piracies

Three of its jobs were for “content security” to assess AI tools and guard against piracy, watermarking and rights-protection work.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 2026

“All it has left is bullying, piracy, noise and the ability to act as a spoiler,” he said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 11, 2026

On 7 May, the government launched a nationwide crackdown on products and practices that violate intellectual property rights, including counterfeit goods, online piracy and trademark infringements.

From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026

“According to some of the American published sources, the cause of the conflict was put down to Tripoli’s piracy and America’s determination to suppress it,” Folayan wrote.

From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026

These days the Sistermen left open piracy to Salladhor Saan and his ilk and confined themselves to wrecking.

From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin

Three are found in Article I, Section 8: counterfeiting, piracies and felonies committed on the high seas, and offenses against international law.

From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2016

The piracies represented an oddly terrifying juxtaposition of technology and barbarism, an almost science-fiction quality of civilization in a retrograde time machine, stranded abruptly in a desert waste.

From Time Magazine Archive

Surrounded by the chief citizens and dignitaries of the law sat the governor at a table, on which lay the papers relating to the piracies of Kyd.

From Captain Kyd, Vol. II or, The Wizard of the Sea by Jonathon Holt Ingraham

In 1794, it was urged by those who now say, no war, that if we built frigates, or resisted the piracies of Algiers, we could not expect peace.

From Washington and the American Republic, Vol. 3. by Benson John Lossing

The fortune held by the Astors, so the facts indubitably show, represents a succession of piracies and exploitation.

From History of the Great American Fortunes, Vol. I Conditions in Settlement and Colonial Times by Myers Gustavus

Related Words

• copying
• hijacking
• infringement
• plagiarism
• theft