plagiarize

verb

pla·gia·rize | \ ˈplā-jə-ˌrīz

also -jē-ə- \

plagiarized; plagiarizing

Definition of plagiarize

: 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

Other Words from plagiarize The Kidnapping Roots of Plagiarize Example Sentences Learn More about plagiarize

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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.

Examples of plagiarize in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples on the Web On the black market, enterprising art criminals regularly exploited a lack of official documentation, or provenance, to plagiarize and resell forged copies of works. — Nora Mcgreevy, Smithsonian Magazine, "Why a German Museum Is Displaying Fake Paintings From Its Collections," 26 Oct. 2020 The Browns seemed to plagiarize that strategy on Sunday. — Scott Patsko, cleveland, "Browns use Washington template to get a win: 3 Quick Thoughts," 27 Sep. 2020 This is to ensure that the content isn't plagiarized, offensive, non-scientific or pose a health or safety risk, according to the servers' websites. — Dr. Minali Nigam And Michael Nedelman, CNN, "Science speeds up during coronavirus pandemic -- but at what cost?," 15 May 2020 The remainder of the book is plagiarized verbatim from articles on ChinaLawBlog.com and The Guardian, according to a copy seen by NBC News. — NBC News, "Coronavirus books plagiarized from news outlets dominate Amazon search results," 11 Mar. 2020 In late 2016, King's ex-wife Bonnie King was surprised when she was contacted by a writer complaining that American Herald Tribune had been plagiarizing his work. — Donie O'sullivan, CNN, "Exclusive: 'American' news site with ties to Iran sheds new light on Tehran's information war," 24 Jan. 2020 Some of the top results were plagiarized from news sources and published under the names of doctors who didn't exist. — Washington Post, "The Technology 202: Here's how Silicon Valley is helping Washington respond to coronavirus," 11 Mar. 2020 Each of the book’s chapters were directly plagiarized from other parts of the web. — NBC News, "Coronavirus books plagiarized from news outlets dominate Amazon search results," 11 Mar. 2020 Around the same time, Raval published an academic paper that was later revealed to be plagiarized. — Dan Garisto/undark, Popular Science, "YouTube science videos are riddled with scams, plagiarism, and misinformation," 9 Mar. 2020

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.

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More Definitions for plagiarize

plagiarize

verb

English Language Learners Definition of plagiarize

: to use the words or ideas of another person as if they were your own words or ideas

See the full definition for plagiarize in the English Language Learners Dictionary

plagiarize

verb

pla·gia·rize | \ ˈplā-jə-ˌrīz

plagiarized; plagiarizing

Legal Definition of plagiarize

transitive verb

: to copy and pass off (the expression of ideas or words of another) as one's own : use (another's work) without crediting the source the book contained plagiarized material — Smith v. Little, Brown & Co., 265 F. Supp. 451 (1965)

intransitive verb

: to present as new and original an idea or work derived from an existing source

Other Words from plagiarize

plagiarism \ -ˌri-zəm

\ noun

plagiarist \ -rist

\ noun