porch pirate
Americannoun
Usage
What does porch pirate mean? A porch pirate is a thief who steals packages delivered to front doorsteps or porches. They especially strike during the holiday season, when people order many gifts online for home delivery.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of porch pirate
First recorded in 2010–15
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In our quest to catch the neighborhood porch pirate, we’ve inadvertently built a dragnet that catches much more.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 12, 2026
Sparky and Lopez’s second dog, a golden retriever named Blazer, both went missing Dec. 3 shortly after the porch pirate was captured on a Ring camera leaving the yard with the gate wide open.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 18, 2025
“He accused me of being a porch pirate, and he just talked to me like I was a lost boy,” Altheimer said.
From Seattle Times • Dec. 6, 2022
AfterShip Package Tracker This app lets you know when to expect a package to arrive, so you can grab it before a porch pirate can.
From The Verge • Dec. 26, 2021
She sees the benefit — a camera might deter a porch pirate.
From Seattle Times • Nov. 19, 2019
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
