pirate
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pirate¹
- /ˈpaɪɹət/ UK
- /ˈpaɪ̯ɹɪt/ UK
- /ˈpaɪɹət/ US
- /paiɾeːʈ/ South Asia
Where it comes from
From Middle English pirate, pirat, pyrat, from Old French pirate, from Latin pīrāta (“pirate”), from Ancient Greek πειρατής (peiratḗs), from πεῖρα (peîra, “trial, attempt, plot”). Displaced native Old English wīċing, which was the word for both "pirate" and "viking".
noun pirates · pyrate
-
A criminal who plunders at sea; commonly attacking merchant vessels, though often pillaging port towns.
You should be cautious due to the Somali pirates.
Similar: buccaneer, corsair, sea-robber
- An armed ship or vessel that sails for the purpose of plundering other vessels. How did you do it? Have you searched for hidden treasure, or discovered a pole, or done time on a pirate, or flown the Channel, or what? Where is the glamour of romance? How did you get it?
-
One who breaks intellectual property laws by reproducing protected works without permission.
And Gnutella, Freenet and other pirate tools will offer plunderings beyond Fanning's fantasies.
Similar: bootlegger
- A bird which practises kleptoparasitism.
- A kind of marble in children's games. Most of the time it went fine; some of his classmates had so many marbles they could have opened up their own shop in smurfs, pirates, purple aggies and pink panthers.
Similar: buccaneer, corsair, freebooter, picaroon, pirate, raider, reaver, sea rat, sea-robber, sea rover
verb pirates · pirating · pirated · pyrate
- To appropriate by piracy; to plunder at sea. They pirated the tanker and sailed to a port where they could sell the ship and cargo.
- To create and/or sell an unauthorized copy of. If a book is pirated there is a remedy for the author and publisher; if a photograph or an engraving is made of a picture without permission the law protects the painter.
-
To knowingly obtain an unauthorized copy of.
Not willing to pay full price for the computer game, Heidi pirated a copy.
Similar: plagiarize, counterfeit
- To engage in piracy. He pirated in the Atlantic for years before becoming a privateer for the Queen.
- To entice an employee to switch from a competing company to one's own.
adjective pyrate
-
Illegally imitated or reproduced, said of a trademarked product or copyrighted work, or of the counterfeit itself.
Similar: pirated, counterfeit
Pirate²
noun Pirates
- someone connected with any of a number of sports teams known as the Pirates, as a fan, player, coach etc.
- someone connected with Bristol Rovers Football Club, as a fan, player, coach etc.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: buccaneer, pirate ship, highjack, hijack, commandeer, expropriate, plagiarist, sea rover, literary pirate, sea robber, piracy, gunpowder, underground, hack, freebooter, tech
noun
Similar: buccaneer, corsair, freebooter, picaroon, pirate, raider, reaver, sea rat, sea-robber, sea rover
Translations
Every language
noun one who plunders at sea
| Español | pirata, bucanero |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 해적 haejeok |
| 日本語 | 海賊 kaizoku |
| 中文 | 海盜 /海盗 hǎidào, 海賊 /海贼 hǎizéi |
| हिन्दी | जलदस्यु jaldasyu, समुद्री डाकू samudrī ḍākū, समुद्री लुटेरा samudrī luṭerā, जहाज़ी डाकू jahāzī ḍākū, जलडाकू jalḍākū |
| Kiswahili | haramia |
| Português | corsário, pirata, bucaneiro |
| Français | pirate, corsaire, boucanier (buccaneer), flibustier |
| Deutsch | Pirat, Seeräuber, Korsar |
| Italiano | pirata, corsaro, bucaniere |
| Ελληνικά | πειρατής peiratís, πειρατίνα peiratína |
| Română | pirat |
| Русский | пира́т pirát, пира́тка pirátka, корса́р korsár, флибустье́р flibustʹjér |
| Tiếng Việt | cướp biển, hải tặc |
| العربية | قُرْصَان qurṣān |
| עברית | שׁוֹדֵד יָם shodéd yam, בּוּקָנִיר bukanir |
noun armed ship
| Español | barco pirata |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 해적선 haejeokseon |
| 日本語 | 海賊船 kaizokusen |
| 中文 | 海盜船 /海盗船 hǎidàochuán |
| हिन्दी | दस्युपोत dasyupot, दस्यु-जहाज़ dasyu-jahāz, दस्यु-नौका dasyu-naukā |
| Deutsch | Piratenschiff |
| Русский | пиратский корабль piratskij korablʹ |
noun one who breaks intellectual property laws
| Español | pirata |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 海賊 kaizoku |
| 中文 | 盜版業者 /盗版业者 dàobǎn yèzhě |
| Português | pirata |
| Français | pirate |
| Deutsch | Pirat, Raubkopierer |
| Ελληνικά | πειρατής peiratís |
| Русский | пира́т pirát |
verb appropriate by piracy
| Español | piratear |
|---|---|
| Português | piratear |
| Français | pirater |
| Italiano | pirateggiare |
| Ελληνικά | κουρσεύω koursévo |
verb make and/or sell an illegal copy
| Español | piratear |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 盗版 dàobǎn, 盜版 /盗版 dàobǎn |
| Português | piratear |
| Français | pirater |
| Deutsch | raubkopieren, schwarzkopieren |
| Ελληνικά | πειρατεύω peiratévo |
verb engage in piracy
| Español | piratear |
|---|---|
| Русский | пиратить piratitʹ, спиратить spiratitʹ, пиратствовать piratstvovatʹ |
adj illegal imitated or reproduced
| Português | pirateado |
|---|---|
| Français | piraté |
| Ελληνικά | πειρατικός peiratikós |
| Русский | пира́тский pirátskij |
Talk about this word "pirate." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/pirate. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. pirate. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/pirate "pirate." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/pirate.Cite this
@misc{pirate_2026,
title = {pirate},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/pirate},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
