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

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Etymology

Origin of piracy

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

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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

He became an international superstar in 1935 in “Captain Blood,” as a wrongly accused doctor who escapes slavery and takes up piracy.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026

This year's figures, however, remain far below those recorded in 2011, when piracy in the region peaked.

From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026

Fears of data piracy and legal liability are rational dissuaders.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 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

Step forth and give your assistance in building the Frigate to oppose French insolence and piracy.

From "Carry On, Mr. Bowditch" by Jean Lee Latham

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

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

Infringement in part No infringement of piracies or frauds In the important case of West Pub.

From Copyright: Its History and Its Law by Richard Rogers Bowker

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

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Related Words

• copying
• hijacking
• infringement
• plagiarism
• theft

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