Thesaurus results for PIRATES

pirates 1 of 2

noun

plural of pirate

as in buccaneers

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

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pirates

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of pirate

as in seizes

to take or make use of under a guise of authority but without actual right using pirated software that was subject to copyright

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of pirates

Noun

But the rollicking jollity that accompanies the final two acts, which includes the entrance of pirates and the abduction of Marina to a brothel, robs the ending of some of its pathos. — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 5 Sep. 2026 Speaking of singing pirates, Curry clearly fancied these kinds of roles, signing on to play the villainous Long John Silver in Muppet Treasure Island (1996), Brian Henson’s musical adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic novel. — ArsTechnica, 26 Aug. 2026 That is up from Politico’s report that Somali pirates had seized at least three tankers carrying oil and fertilizer since April, while a chemical-carrying ship was hijacked off Yemen in July. — Joshua Hong, Fortune, 25 Aug. 2026 Though the pirates and villagers celebrate the defeat of Wapol, One Piece season 2 ends with Luffy agreeing to help Princess Vivi, whose homeland of Alabasta is the target of a dangerous plot hatched by Baroque Works. — Brianna Zigler, Entertainment Weekly, 24 Aug. 2026 Internally at the studios, copyright divisions spend their energy targeting larger criminal operations enabling these digital pirates — the hives sharing and disseminating premium content. — Gene Maddaus, Variety, 21 Aug. 2026 Eight pirates, believed to be members of a group previously involved in the hijacking of the M/V Sward on April 26, took the vessel toward the coast near Garmaal in Puntland’s Dangoroyo district. — ABC News, 20 Aug. 2026 The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, which has been tracking the 2026 resurgence, recently said in a report that pirates demanded as much as $10 million for the release of the Eureka, which was seized on May 2. — Aparajita Saxena, CNBC, 20 Aug. 2026 White was briefly granted an exception, but pirates attacked that attempt, stealing his supplies and forcing him back to England. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 14 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for pirates

Noun

The conference curated a world of coming wonders for several hundred C-suite buccaneers who had paid up to fifty thousand dollars apiece to update their mental models and investment portfolios.

— Tad Friend, New Yorker, 4 Aug. 2025

Definition of buccaneers

Noun

Courtesy Luxury Living Costa Rica Three centuries before wealthy investors sought out trophy holdings along Costa Rica’s untamed Pacific coast, these shores were a theater of conquistadors, corsairs and cannon fire.

— Donna Hardie-Scott, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026
After the Revolutionary War, the United States maintained no standing fleet, but attacks by the Barbary pirates—corsairs based in North Africa who preyed on American merchant ships and took sailors ransom—drove Congress to reestablish a navy in the 1790s.

— David A. Graham, The Atlantic, 4 June 2026

Definition of corsairs

Verb

Bean provided all the documents the university requested in May 2025 before he was denied, the lawsuit claims.

— DeJanay Booth-Singleton, CBS News, 16 Sep. 2026
Tensions continued to rise between Filippi and Kettle over disagreements about operations and budget, the suit claims.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2026

Definition of claims

Noun

Frank and Jesse James rode with them as the raiders killed 150 to 200 men and boys and burned down nearly every business on Massachusetts Street, as well as dozens of homes.

— Lisa Gutierrez, Kansas City Star, 11 Sep. 2026
The preseason finale against the Atlanta Falcons is days away, roster cuts are next Sunday, and the season opener at the Las Vegas raiders is three weeks away.

— Chris Perkins, Sun Sentinel, 23 Aug. 2026

Definition of raiders

Verb

If someone finds or steals it, does the information remain encrypted and inaccessible?

— Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 5 Sep. 2026
Jealousy and entitlement steer the actions of middling white writer June Hayward, who brazenly steals the manuscript of her much more talented friend, Chinese-American author, Athena Liu, after being the sole witness to Athena’s death.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 2 Sep. 2026

Definition of steals

Verb

Unlike most other states, California has its own inspection-and-approval system for fireworks, and confiscates those failing standards.

— Trevor Hughes, USA Today, 30 June 2026
The children designated as Palestinians, meanwhile, have their drawings torn up and are relegated to small corners of the classroom while the teacher confiscates their candy.

— Robert Schmad, The Washington Examiner, 26 Nov. 2025

Definition of confiscates

Verb

Perry’s Instagram disclosure is the kind of endorsement that converts a niche lab test into a mainstream wellness purchase.

— Hanna Wickes, Miami Herald, 14 Sep. 2026
But a keyword ranking in position three means nothing if that keyword never converts into a qualified conversation with a buyer.

— Gaetano Romeo, Forbes.com, 14 Sep. 2026

Definition of converts

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“Pirates.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pirates. Accessed 17 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of pirates

noun

verb

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