plagiarize

verb pla·gia·rize \ ˈplā-jə-ˌrīz also -jē-ə- \

Definition of plagiarize

plagiarized; plagiarizing

transitive verb

:to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own :use (another's production) without crediting the source

intransitive verb

:to commit literary theft :present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source

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plagiarizer

noun

See plagiarize defined for English-language learners

See plagiarize defined for kids

Examples of plagiarize in a Sentence

He plagiarized a classmate's report.
She plagiarized from an article she read on the Internet.

Recent Examples of plagiarize from the Web

The fake classes were discovered by rival N.C. State fans who noted a former football player's paper for a Swahili Class was plagiarized.

— chris chavez, SI.com, "Here's What's on the Line at UNC's Committee on Infractions Hearing," 15 Aug. 2017
John Rios, on the board of trustees for the Kansas City Kansas Community College, is accused of plagiarizing the speech of a 2004 Hampton valedictorian, who himself was once accused of ripping off a poet in his speech.

— max londberg, kansascity, "Morning Rush: Saber rattling, Guam and Missouri’s B-2s; 1 million visitors for eclipse," 11 Aug. 2017
The Department of Justice reports filed after the recent uprisings in Ferguson, Missouri and Baltimore, Maryland read like they were written by college students haplessly attempting to plagiarize the Kerner Commission.

— noah remnick, The Atlantic, "Newark's Long Hot Summer," 29 July 2017
WTVC recently found that the unknown writer might have plagiarized from another obituary for a woman named Dolores Aguilar, which ran in 2008 in the Vallejo Times-Herald in California.

— katina beniaris, Country Living, "This Great Grandmother's Shocking Obituary Went Viral for All the Wrong Reasons," 10 July 2017
First daughter and White House adviser Ivanka Trump must give a deposition in a lawsuit claiming her clothing brand plagiarized a shoe design, a district judge ruled June 23.

— alana abramson, PEOPLE.com, "Ivanka Trump Ordered to Testify in Lawsuit Claiming Her Brand Plagiarized a Shoe Design," 26 June 2017
First daughter and White House adviser Ivanka Trump must give a deposition in a lawsuit claiming her clothing brand plagiarized a shoe design, a district judge ruled June 23.

— alana abramson, PEOPLE.com, "Ivanka Trump Ordered to Testify in Lawsuit Claiming Her Brand Plagiarized a Shoe Design," 26 June 2017
First daughter and White House adviser Ivanka Trump must give a deposition in a lawsuit claiming her clothing brand plagiarized a shoe design, a district judge ruled June 23.

— alana abramson, PEOPLE.com, "Ivanka Trump Ordered to Testify in Lawsuit Claiming Her Brand Plagiarized a Shoe Design," 26 June 2017
First daughter and White House adviser Ivanka Trump must give a deposition in a lawsuit claiming her clothing brand plagiarized a shoe design, a district judge ruled June 23.

— alana abramson, Fortune, "Ivanka Trump Ordered to Testify in Lawsuit Claiming Her Brand Plagiarized a Shoe Design," 25 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'plagiarize.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

The Kidnapping Roots of plagiarize

If schools wish to impress upon their students how serious an offense plagiarism is, they might start with an explanation of the word’s history. Plagiarize (and plagiarism) comes from the Latin plagiarius “kidnapper.” This word, derived from the Latin plaga (“a net used by hunters to catch game”), extended its meaning in Latin to include a person who stole the words, rather than the children, of another. When plagiarius first entered English in the form plagiary, it kept its original reference to kidnapping, a sense that is now quite obsolete.