as in buccaneer
someone who engages in robbery of ships at sea
Sir Francis Drake was a British pirate who preyed on Spanish ships with the connivance of Elizabeth I
Synonyms & Similar Words
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as in to seize
to take or make use of under a guise of authority but without actual right
using pirated software that was subject to copyright
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of pirate
Carley Rojas Avila, Travel + Leisure, 3 Mar. 2026
Something tells me that everyone is once again asleep and the pirates are on the move.
—John Moorlach, Oc Register, 2 Mar. 2026
Amelia Mugavero, CBS News, 5 Dec. 2025
The discovery ruling bolsters what’s increasingly looking like a winning argument over the practice of pirating books from shadow libraries.
—Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 26 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pirate
Noun
Legend has it that pirates let pigs colonize the island to create their own personal food source, but now their Instagrammability draws a steady stream of day-trippers from Nassau.
—Carley Rojas Avila, Travel + Leisure, 3 Mar. 2026
Something tells me that everyone is once again asleep and the pirates are on the move.
—John Moorlach, Oc Register, 2 Mar. 2026
Verb
Partida later discovered another neighbor's video showing a man wearing the same hat stealing another package — raising concerns about a possible porch-pirating spree.
—Amelia Mugavero, CBS News, 5 Dec. 2025
The discovery ruling bolsters what’s increasingly looking like a winning argument over the practice of pirating books from shadow libraries.
—Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 26 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pirate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pirate
Noun
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French buccaneers spent much of the seventeenth century hiding and plundering along the northwest coast of Hispaniola, eventually realizing more money could be made farming tobacco and sugar.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
5 Jan. 2026
-
Grant had pessimistically concluded in 1965 that the buccaneer capitalism and technocracy of the U.S. had already penetrated the True North beyond repair.—
Dónal Gill,
The Dial,
28 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The game was largely back and forth after halftime, until the Jayhawks seized momentum late.—
Shreyas Laddha,
Kansas City Star,
13 Mar. 2026
-
Other analysts, though, are more sanguine, reckoning that the allies can instead simply seize Iranian oil tankers.—
Michael M. Rosen,
The Washington Examiner,
13 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Citizen Genet, the French envoy to the United States, landed in Charleston, South Carolina, and proceeded to enlist American citizens’ help in France’s war with Britain by commissioning privateers in U.S. ports to prey on British ships.—
Washington Post,
Washington Post,
12 Jan. 2026
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Leaders in Congress agreed and sent out armadas of patriot privateers to do just that, plundering British shipping around the Atlantic rim and forcing Royal Navy warships to redeploy to convoy duty.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Nikita Casap, 18, shot his mother and stepfather, stole $14,000, and fled the state before arrest in Kansas weeks later.—
Todd Richmond,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Mar. 2026
-
Learning from losing Anthony Edwards is stealing the superpowers of whoever defeats him.—
Fred Katz,
New York Times,
6 Mar. 2026
Noun
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There is widespread, cross-partisan public support for finally clamping down on these corporate freebooters.—
Prem Thakker,
The New Republic,
23 Feb. 2023
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After Columbus’s first footfall in the New World, Cuba fell prey to every manner of European freebooter.—
Jon Lee Anderson,
Foreign Affairs,
14 Dec. 2021
Verb
-
Prison staff shall confiscate all free-of-charge social accommodations currently in use.—
Mia Cathell,
The Washington Examiner,
3 Mar. 2026
-
Desert Diamond Arena may confiscate items that could cause danger or disruption or are in breach of building policies.—
Ed Masley,
AZCentral.com,
2 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Acknowledging burdens and consequences In the 1790s, the United States faced a world ruled by corsairs and kings.—
Maurizio Valsania,
The Conversation,
9 Jan. 2026
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Rich gives Marge an eye patch that belonged to a corsair his ancestors knew in Cuba.—
Louis Peitzman,
Vulture,
1 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
Heo re-holstered his Taser, intending to apprehend Best by grabbing or tackling him, Prescott said.—
Kellie Love,
Hartford Courant,
9 Mar. 2026
-
While the two men struggle with the jammed backdoor, Weisz’s character tosses them both a look before rushing toward the flames to grab her unfinished manuscript, written on legal pads, and dashing out of the cabin just in time.—
Meg Walters,
Glamour,
9 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Pirate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pirate. Accessed 14 Mar. 2026.
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