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 of piracy

• pirating
• raiding
• robbery

Examples of piracy in a Sentence

piracy on the high seas

many countries have harsh penalties for piracy now

Recent Examples on the Web

Independent filmmakers and writers now face a new kind of piracy; their content duplicated in seconds, stripped of context, and monetized by companies that never paid to make it. —Gerard Scimeca, Mercury News, 7 Nov. 2025

Bartz was struck by the boldness of the theft, noting that internal communications from Anthropic showed blatant awareness of the piracy. —Carly Tagen-Dye, PEOPLE, 6 Nov. 2025

The first Chinese naval escort task group was sent to the Gulf of Aden in 2008 to protect the country's shipping interests amid piracy while giving its sailors experience in overseas operations, the Pentagon said. —Ryan Chan, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2025

Napster, the music sharing platform launched in 1999, had already opened the taps with electronic music sharing and piracy, making music distribution easier than ever. —Deni Ellis Béchard, Scientific American, 1 Nov. 2025

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