pirate

[ pahy-ruht ]

/ ˈpaɪ rət /

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See synonyms for: pirate / pirated / pirates / pirating on Thesaurus.com

noun

a person who robs or commits illegal violence at sea or on the shores of the sea.

a ship used by such persons.

any plunderer, predator, etc.: confidence men, slumlords, and other pirates.

a person who uses or reproduces the work or invention of another without authorization.

Also called pirate stream .Geology. a stream that diverts into its own flow the headwaters of another stream, river, etc.

verb (used with object), pi·rat·ed, pi·rat·ing.

to commit piracy upon; plunder; rob.

to take by piracy: to pirate gold.

to use or reproduce (a book, an invention, etc.) without authorization or legal right: to pirate hit records.

to take or entice away for one's own use: Our competitor is trying to pirate our best salesman.

verb (used without object), pi·rat·ed, pi·rat·ing.

to commit or practice piracy.

OTHER WORDS FOR pirate

1 freebooter, buccaneer, corsair, plunderer.

See synonyms for pirate on Thesaurus.com

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Origin of pirate

1250–1300; Middle English <Latin pīrāta<Greek peirātḗs, equivalent to peirā-, variant stem of peirân to attack + -tēs agent noun suffix

OTHER WORDS FROM pirate

pi·rate·like, adjectivepi·rat·i·cal

[pahy-rat-i-kuhl, pi-], /paɪˈræt ɪ kəl, pɪ-/, pi·rat·ic, adjectivepi·rat·i·cal·ly, adverbun·pi·rat·ed, adjective

un·pi·rat·i·cal, adjectiveun·pi·rat·i·cal·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use pirate in a sentence

Certain printers, however, made a practice of pirating some of the most popular English privileged books.
Prices of Books|Henry B. Wheatley
The good Major Bonnet has gone off pirating; he thinks he can make more money that way than by attending to his plantation.
Kate Bonnet|Frank R. Stockton
With this small company he dared not go pirating on his own account and so had decided to rejoin Blackbeard.
Blackbeard: Buccaneer|Ralph D. Paine
Was America in the business of pirating around the shores of Europe to pick up islands, or promontories like Gibraltar?
Children of the Market Place|Edgar Lee Masters

He wished to go pirating again, and saw a way of doing this which he thought would be far superior to any of the common methods.
Buccaneers and Pirates of Our Coasts|Frank Richard Stockton

British Dictionary definitions for pirate

pirate

/ (ˈpaɪrɪt) /

noun

a person who commits piracy

a vessel used by pirates
(as modifier)a pirate ship

a person who illicitly uses or appropriates someone else's literary, artistic, or other work

a person or group of people who broadcast illegally
(as modifier)a pirate radio station

verb

(tr) to use, appropriate, or reproduce (artistic work, ideas, etc) illicitly

Derived forms of pirate

piratical (paɪˈrætɪkəl) or piratic, adjectivepiratically, adverb

Word Origin for pirate

C15: from Latin pīrāta, from Greek peirātēs one who attacks, from peira an attempt, attack

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

pirate

OTHER WORDS FOR pirate

Origin of pirate

OTHER WORDS FROM pirate

Words related to pirate

How to use pirate in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for pirate

Derived forms of pirate

Word Origin for pirate