as in buccaneer
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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as in to seize
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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of pirate
Gia Yetikyel, Vogue, 24 Jan. 2025
He was dressed in a pirate’s costume at the time in July 2015, Monroe County deputies said.
—Howard Cohen, Miami Herald, 24 Jan. 2025
Yasmeen Serhan, TIME, 10 Dec. 2024
In the 1990s, when the state purchased a package of satellite television channels and transmitted it from Hotel Habana Libre to surrounding hotels, technicians pirated the signal through makeshift antennas.
—Laura-Zoë Humphreys and Daymar Valdés Frigola / Made By History, TIME, 6 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for pirate 
Noun
But when he’s presumed dead after a tragic run-in with a pirate ship, our heroine is forced to take up with the spiteful Prince Humperdink—that is, until a masked man in black jumps in to save her.
—Gia Yetikyel, Vogue, 24 Jan. 2025
He was dressed in a pirate’s costume at the time in July 2015, Monroe County deputies said.
—Howard Cohen, Miami Herald, 24 Jan. 2025
Verb
The film has already been widely pirated in Israel.
—Yasmeen Serhan, TIME, 10 Dec. 2024
In the 1990s, when the state purchased a package of satellite television channels and transmitted it from Hotel Habana Libre to surrounding hotels, technicians pirated the signal through makeshift antennas.
—Laura-Zoë Humphreys and Daymar Valdés Frigola / Made By History, TIME, 6 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for pirate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pirate
Noun
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Her approach is a clean break from the 19th-century tradition of American landscape art, in which de facto propagandists like Albert Bierstadt and Thomas Cole depicted land as radiant and virginal, the birthright of any colonial buccaneer drunk on Manifest Destiny.—
Jeremy Lybarger,
ARTnews.com,
6 Jan. 2025
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Sporting a goatee, tricorn hat, purple vest and pantaloons, the bad-news buccaneer ambushed the victim near the station’s turnstiles, punching him repeatedly before making off with his AirPods and sneakers.—
Colin Mixson,
New York Daily News,
1 Nov. 2024
Verb
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The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office Drug Unit seized 148 pounds of crystal methamphetamine, according to a statement the sheriff's office posted to Facebook.—
Julia Gomez,
USA TODAY,
17 Feb. 2025
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Police then seized the remaining $1,600, which was returned to the victim after a property hearing Feb. 13.—
Lillie Davidson,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
16 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Vessels discovered in the area include a War of 1812 privateer, boats sunk by German submarines during World War II and an actual German U-boat sunk by Allied forces, the federal agency said.—
Michael Loria,
USA TODAY,
31 Jan. 2025
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That victory marked the only time a Prancing Horse entered by a privateer, in this case Luigi Chinetti’s North American Racing Team, took top honors at Circuit de la Sarthe’s iconic race.—
Viju Mathew,
Robb Report,
25 Jan. 2025
Verb
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An 18-year-old suspected of stealing $56,000 in jewelry from a San Carlos store in September 2024, along with two other people, was arrested this week.—
Stephanie Lam,
The Mercury News,
10 Feb. 2025
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After White stole the spotlight for a quick stretch, Tatum dribbled to his right, squared his body in mid-air and drilled a long 3-pointer over Mikal Bridges to give Boston an 89-70 lead.—
Jay King,
The Athletic,
9 Feb. 2025
Noun
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After Columbus’s first footfall in the New World, Cuba fell prey to every manner of European freebooter.—
Jon Lee Anderson,
Foreign Affairs,
14 Dec. 2021
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There is widespread, cross-partisan public support for finally clamping down on these corporate freebooters.—
Prem Thakker,
The New Republic,
23 Feb. 2023
Verb
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The South African Government has not confiscated any land.—
Kate Bartlett,
NPR,
7 Feb. 2025
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So detectives confiscated his pants and swabbed his back pocket in case the culprit left behind DNA.—
Doc Louallen,
ABC News,
7 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Freed from a Mediterranean Sea crowded with Ottoman fleets and North African corsairs, the Atlantic upstarts unleashed themselves on the world’s oceans.—
Jeremy Adelman,
Foreign Affairs,
20 Apr. 2015
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But the stealthy corsair, evading her pursuer, slipped to safety in Tripoli’s shallow harbor—and then, suddenly, disaster struck the Philadelphia.—
Mark G. Spencer,
WSJ,
31 Jan. 2023
Verb
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Then, almost missing the cue, Belushi stepped forward and grabbed the mic stand.—
David Browne,
Rolling Stone,
17 Feb. 2025
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Brendan Coyle made five 3-pointers and grabbed six rebounds.—
Staff And Wire Reports,
Hartford Courant,
16 Feb. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Pirate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pirate. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.
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