pi·ra·cy

(pī′rə-sē)

n. pl. pi·ra·cies

a. Robbery or other serious acts of violence committed at sea.

b. The hijacking of an airplane: air piracy.

2. Copyright or patent infringement: software piracy.

3. The illegal interception or use of radio or television signals.

4. An instance of piracy: a surge of piracies.

[Medieval Latin pīrātia, from Late Greek peirāteia, from Greek peirātēs, pirate; see pirate.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

piracy

(ˈpaɪrəsɪ)

n, pl -cies

1. (Law) Brit robbery on the seas within admiralty jurisdiction

2. (Nautical Terms) a felony, such as robbery or hijacking, committed aboard a ship or aircraft

3. the unauthorized use or appropriation of patented or copyrighted material, ideas, etc

[C16: from Anglo-Latin pirātia, from Late Greek peirāteia; see pirate]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

pi•ra•cy

(ˈpaɪ rə si)

n., pl. -cies.

1. practice of a pirate; robbery or illegal violence at sea.

2. the unauthorized reproduction or use of copyrighted material, a patented invention, a trademarked product, etc.

[1545–55; earlier pyracie < Medieval Latin pīrātīa < Late Greek peirāteía. See pirate, -acy]

piracy

An illegal act of violence, depredation (e.g., plundering, robbing, or pillaging), or detention in or over international waters committed for private ends by the crew or passengers of a private ship or aircraft against another ship or aircraft or against persons or property on board such ship or aircraft.

Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms. US Department of Defense 2005.

piracy

the act of robbery on the high seas. See also ships. — pirate, n. — piratic, piratical, adj.

piracy

noun

1. robbery, stealing, theft, hijacking, infringement, buccaneering, rapine, freebooting Seven of the fishermen have been formally charged with piracy.

2. illegal copying, bootlegging, plagiarism, copyright infringement, illegal reproduction Video piracy is a criminal offence.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

Translations

قَرْصَنَه

пиратство

pirátství

piratudgivelsesørøveri

Piraterie Raubdruck Seeräuberei

πειρατεία

piratería

kaappausmerirosvous

piraterie piratage

kalózkodáseltérítés

sjórán

pirateria

piratavimas

piratvirksomhet sjørøveri

pirataria

пиратство

pirátstvo

korsan yayıncılıkkorsanlık

піратство

海盗行为盗版非法翻印

piracy

[ˈpaɪərəsɪ] N (lit) → piratería f; [of book] → publicación f pirata; [of tape, video, software] → reproducción f pirata

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

piracy

[ˈpaɪrəsi] n

(at sea) → piraterie f

[book, film, video, tape] → piratage m; [ideas] → piratage m
protection against piracy of books, films and other intellectual property → la protection contre le piratage des livres, films et autres propriétés intellectuelles

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

piracy

n → Seeräuberei f, → Piraterie f; (of book etc) → Raubdruck m; (of record) → Raubpressung f; an act of piracy → Seeräuberei f, → Piraterie f

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

piracy

[ˈpaɪrəsɪ] n → pirateria

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

pirate

(ˈpaiərət) noun

1. a person who attacks and robs ships at sea. Their ship was attacked by pirates; (also adjective) a pirate ship.

2. a person who does something without legal right, eg publishes someone else's work as his own or broadcasts without a licence. a pirate radio-station.

verb

to publish, broadcast etc without the legal right to do so. The dictionary was pirated and sold abroad.

ˈpiracy noun

the act(s) of a pirate. He was accused of piracy on the high seas; Publishing that book under his own name was piracy.

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

He no longer took an interest in war, nor even in piracy. The charm of life was gone; there was nothing but dreariness left.

View in context

The first literary result of the foundation of our industrial system upon the profits of piracy and slave-trading was Shakspere.

View in context

The HISPANIOLA still lay where she had anchored; but, sure enough, there was the Jolly Roger--the black flag of piracy --flying from her peak.

View in context

In cases of capture; of piracy; of the post office; of coins, weights, and measures; of trade with the Indians; of claims under grants of land by different States; and, above all, in the case of trials by courts-marshal in the army and navy, by which death may be inflicted without the intervention of a jury, or even of a civil magistrate; in all these cases the powers of the Confederation operate immediately on the persons and interests of individual citizens.

View in context

There is wild talk of cannon aboard, and of strange raids and expeditions she may make, ranging from opium smuggling into the States and arms smuggling into China, to blackbirding and open piracy. Yet I cannot but believe for I have never yet caught him in a lie, while he has a cyclopaedic knowledge of sealing and the men of the sealing fleets.

View in context

The slave-trade is now, by American law, considered as piracy. But a slave-trade, as systematic as ever was carried on on the coast of Africa, is an inevitable attendant and result of American slavery.

View in context

"I can make it lively for you and your crowd when we get ashore," said Harvey, with a vicious nod, murmuring vague threats about "piracy," at which Troop almost - not quite - smiled.

View in context

Also, within an hour or so, he was able to bring to us a Greek boy of seventeen or eighteen who knew thoroughly well the ins and outs of oyster piracy.

View in context

Even before his return to England, however, he excited a reaction, by his abundantly justified but untactful condemnation of American piracy of English books; and this reaction was confirmed by his subsequent caricature of American life in 'American Notes' and 'Martin Chuzzlewit.' For a number of years during the middle part of his career Dickens devoted a vast amount of energy to managing and taking the chief part in a company of amateur actors, who performed at times in various cities.

View in context

It was certainly an apparent vengeance on their crime of mutiny and piracy that brought them to the state they were in; and they showed not the least remorse for the crime, but added new villanies to it, such as the piece of monstrous cruelty of wounding a poor slave because he did not, or perhaps could not, understand to do what he was directed, and to wound him in such a manner as made him a cripple all his life, and in a place where no surgeon or medicine could be had for his cure; and, what was still worse, the intentional murder, for such to be sure it was, as was afterwards the formed design they all laid to murder the Spaniards in cold blood, and in their sleep.

View in context

At IBC 2019, Synamedia, a video software provider, will unveil enhancements to its security portfolio that help combat the threat from piracy in the age of infinite entertainment.

Synamedia to launch solutions to combat piracy

Yahuza Badamosi has revealed that delay in passage of the Piracy Bill and the slow judicial process in the country are major reasons why insecurity persists on Nigerian maritime domain.

Why Insecurity Persists In Nigerian Maritime Domain -Navy

Noun	1.	piracy - hijacking on the high seas or in similar contexts; taking a ship or plane away from the control of those who are legally entitled to it; "air piracy" buccaneering highjacking, hijacking - robbery of a traveller or vehicle in transit or seizing control of a vehicle by the use of force
	2.	piracy - the act of plagiarizing; taking someone's words or ideas as if they were your own plagiarisation, plagiarization, plagiarism copyright infringement, infringement of copyright - a violation of the rights secured by a copyright