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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

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 then a banquet meal goes horribly awry, and pirates sink the ship. — K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 17 July 2026 Originally known as Gorda Cay, it is believed that pirates frequented the island in the 1700s. — Christian Sylt, Fortune, 16 July 2026 There aren’t enough ships to protect the reopening trade routes from pirates. — Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 6 July 2026 The age of sail, when pirates like Johnny Depp’s fictional Jack Sparrow roamed the seven seas, ended about 200 years ago. — Karissa Waddick, USA Today, 1 July 2026 Eight pages later, Leucippe has to fake her own beheading to escape from pirates. — Literary Hub, 30 June 2026 Several professional wrestlers make an appearance in the music video, which features Lauper attempting to rescue her family's local business from creditors, including The Iron Sheik and Andre the Giant, who appeared as pirates. — Marina Watts, Entertainment Weekly, 29 June 2026 We’re told that Krem, a human trafficker who leads a group of space pirates known as the Brigands, possesses the strength of 10,000 men. — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 24 June 2026 Tens of thousands drowned, while others were raped, robbed, and murdered by pirates, finding vulnerable prey. — Elizabeth Holtzman, Time, 9 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pirates
  1. buccaneers
  2. seizes
  3. corsairs
  4. claims
  5. raiders
  6. steals
  7. confiscates
  8. converts
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
Verb
  • Rhaenyra, queen of the Blacks, seizes the Iron Throne in King’s Landing with the support of Alicent, who has simply had enough of her unstable and terrible sons.
    — Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 13 July 2026
  • Trump seizes America’s 250th-birthday spotlight, headlining the Great American State Fair, hosting a UFC bout at the White House and promoting new passports, $250 bills and coins bearing his image.
    — Will Weissert, Los Angeles Times, 3 June 2026
Definition of seizes
Noun
  • 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
  • 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
Definition of corsairs
Verb
  • China claims to be well on the way to putting people on the Moon by 2030, less than four years away.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 15 July 2026
  • In the lawsuit, the city claims Kaizen Lounge and Jackson have committed multiple code violations.
    — George Avalos, Mercury News, 15 July 2026
Definition of claims
Noun
  • Known as the Danegeld, it was collected to pay Viking raiders to leave England alone.
    — Kelly Phillips Erb, Forbes.com, 11 July 2026
  • For decades, tomb raiders have pillaged sites across the country, selling them on the black market.
    — Barbie Latza Nadeau, CNN Money, 19 June 2026
Definition of raiders
Verb
  • John Legend steals the show at the 2026 Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland on July 9.
    — People Staff, PEOPLE, 13 July 2026
  • Adebayo ranks second in franchise history in all-time points scored (10,391 points) and total rebounds grabbed (5,756 rebounds), third in all-time assists (2,276 assists) and steals (693), and fifth in all-time blocks (538 blocks).
    — Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 11 July 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
  • The module then converts the message into a radio signal and broadcasts it to other nodes.
    — Lesya Lapina & Sergey Hyugge, The Dial, 21 July 2026
  • In just one second, our sun converts almost 700 million tons of hydrogen to helium and energy.
    — Mike Lynch, Twin Cities, 19 July 2026
Definition of converts

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Cite this Entry

“Pirates.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pirates. Accessed 23 Jul. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of pirates for Spanish Speakers

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