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

In the early 2000s, when Napster, MP3s and digital piracy threatened to destroy the business, Quartararo was one of the executives in Steve Jobs’ office when the late Apple CEO promised to shift the business from $10 CDs to 99-cent downloads. —Steve Knopper, Billboard, 22 Nov. 2023

But then Natsuno reflected describing the logistical problems incumbent in distribution of paper and the piracy problems that come with digital formats. —Patrick Frater, Variety, 7 Nov. 2023

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) now considers AI voice cloning a potential copyright infringement threat and wants the US government to include it in its piracy watchdog list. —Emilia David, The Verge, 11 Oct. 2023

Like the Wild West and the 19th-century circus, piracy attracted people—mostly men, but also some bold women—who could not or would not assimilate. —TIME, 5 Oct. 2023

Those initiatives helped lay the groundwork for the recorded music industry’s year-on-year recovery from the lows of just over a decade ago when piracy was rampant. —Richard Smirke, Billboard, 20 July 2023

What is on the other side of the Golden Age of piracy? —Hunter Ingram, Variety, 26 Oct. 2023

The entire 107-minute long movie has been split into 23 clips, emulating a popular method of streaming piracy on platforms like TikTok, Twitter, and YouTube that’s used to circumvent restrictions on the length of uploaded videos and avoid being flagged by copyright detection software. —Jess Weatherbed, The Verge, 3 Oct. 2023

The country is building a railway system that will link Europe with India, bypassing the threat of modern piracy in areas like the Indian Ocean and in the process and speed up shipments. —Bychristiaan Hetzner, Fortune, 21 Sep. 2023

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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

• anti-piracy
• air piracy

• anti-piracy
• air 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