piracy

noun

pi·​ra·​cy ˈpī-rə-sē 

plural piracies

1

: an act of robbery on the high seas

also : an act resembling such robbery

2

: robbery on the high seas

3

a

: the unauthorized use of another's production, invention, or conception especially in infringement of a copyright

b

: the illicit accessing of broadcast signals

Synonyms

• pirating

Examples of piracy in a Sentence

piracy on the high seas

many countries have harsh penalties for piracy now

Recent Examples on the Web

The agency’s research pointed to a number of successes over the last year, including collaboration between the U.S. government and foreign governments to combat piracy and counterfeit efforts from Vietnam, Brazil, Kuwait and the Philippines. —Lauren Irwin, The Hill, 9 Jan. 2025

Netflix, Amazon Prime, Apple TV, YouTube have all signed deals to distribute licensed live sports and have an obvious stake in seeing piracy not undermine those deals. —Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 6 Jan. 2025

Advances in satellite television technology exacerbated conflicts between state and citizen media piracy. —Laura-Zoë Humphreys and Daymar Valdés Frigola / Made By History, TIME, 6 Dec. 2024

But in the late 2000s that business model disappeared as faster internet speeds facilitated a massive increase in piracy and the rise of commercial streaming platforms like Netflix, causing the demand for physical media to crater. —Todd Longwell, Variety, 31 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Medieval Latin piratia, from Late Greek peirateia, from Greek peiratēs pirate

First Known Use

1537, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing piracy

• air piracy
• anti-piracy

Kids Definition

piracy

noun

pi·​ra·​cy ˈpī-rə-sē 

plural piracies

1

: robbery on the high seas

2

: the use of another's production or invention without permission

Legal Definition

piracy

noun

pi·​ra·​cy ˈpī-rə-sē 

plural piracies

1

: an act of robbery especially on the high seas

specifically : an illegal act of violence, detention, or plunder committed for private ends by crew or passengers of a private ship or aircraft against another ship or aircraft on the high seas or in a place outside the jurisdiction of any state see also air piracy

2

a

: the unauthorized copying, distribution, or use of another's production (as a film) especially in infringement of a copyright

software piracy

b

: the unauthorized use, interception, or receipt of encoded communications (as satellite cable programming) especially to avoid paying fees for use

the statute's purpose is to proscribe the piracy of programming signals

—United States v. Harrell, 983 F.2d 36 (1993)

3

: the crime of committing piracy