piracy

noun

pi·​ra·​cy ˈpī-rə-sē 

plural piracies

1

: an act of robbery on the high seas

also : an act resembling such robbery

2

: robbery on the high seas

3

a

: the unauthorized use of another's production, invention, or conception especially in infringement of a copyright

b

: the illicit accessing of broadcast signals

Synonyms

• pirating

Examples of piracy in a Sentence

piracy on the high seas

many countries have harsh penalties for piracy now

Recent Examples on the Web

The solution to stopping piracy, at least in Rivkin’s eyes, is to prevent users from accessing piracy websites altogether. —Emma Roth, The Verge, 9 Apr. 2024

Obituary spam is an especially grim type of digital piracy, where people attempt to make money by scraping and republishing death notices, sometimes on social platforms like YouTube. —Kate Knibbs, WIRED, 5 Mar. 2024

The bar's name comes from the pirate Jean Lafitte, who was rumored to have used the building for smuggling and piracy. —Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure, 10 Mar. 2024

Warning messages and small behavioral nudges have been used in multiple ways to change people’s behavior online, from piracy and copyright infringement to gambling. —Matt Burgess, WIRED, 29 Feb. 2024

Because the Crunchyroll audience, in particular, is an audience that grew out of piracy. —Nick Statt, The Verge, 26 Feb. 2024

But offering subscribers access to thousands of movies, films, TV shows, and songs all ad-free for a relatively low monthly fee hasn’t hampered the pirates—in fact, a new report found that piracy is on the rise. —Morgan Haefner, Quartz, 12 Feb. 2024

Spotify, in an attempt to combat music piracy, was founded in 2006 by Swedish duo Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. —Kurt Snibbe, Orange County Register, 2 Feb. 2024

There were other obstacles to battle past such as complicated contractual wrangles and piracy problems to secure their master tapes sold to a former manager and Zambia Music Parlour. —Tracy Kawalik, SPIN, 5 Mar. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Medieval Latin piratia, from Late Greek peirateia, from Greek peiratēs pirate

First Known Use

1537, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing piracy

• air piracy
• anti-piracy

Kids Definition

piracy

noun

pi·​ra·​cy ˈpī-rə-sē 

plural piracies

1

: robbery on the high seas

2

: the use of another's production or invention without permission

Legal Definition

piracy

noun

pi·​ra·​cy ˈpī-rə-sē 

plural piracies

1

: an act of robbery especially on the high seas

specifically : an illegal act of violence, detention, or plunder committed for private ends by crew or passengers of a private ship or aircraft against another ship or aircraft on the high seas or in a place outside the jurisdiction of any state see also air piracy

2

a

: the unauthorized copying, distribution, or use of another's production (as a film) especially in infringement of a copyright

software piracy

b

: the unauthorized use, interception, or receipt of encoded communications (as satellite cable programming) especially to avoid paying fees for use

the statute's purpose is to proscribe the piracy of programming signals

—United States v. Harrell, 983 F.2d 36 (1993)

3

: the crime of committing piracy