# pirate

Pronunciation: say "PY-ruht" /ˈpaɪɹət/

## Noun

1. A criminal who robs ships at sea, often attacking merchant vessels or raiding port towns.
   - Simple: A robber who attacks ships at sea and steals from them.
   - _The pirate boarded the merchant ship and seized its cargo._
   - _Coastal towns lived in fear of pirates who raided without warning._
2. Someone who copies protected works such as music, movies, or software without authorization, in breach of intellectual property law.
   - Simple: A person who copies and shares music, movies, or software without permission.
   - _A pirate had copied the album and was selling it on the street._
   - _Record labels pursued pirates who distributed their songs for free._
4. An armed vessel that sails for the purpose of plundering other ships.
   - Simple: An armed ship used to attack and rob other ships at sea.
   - _The pirate overtook the galleon and forced it to surrender._
   - _Several pirates lay in wait near the narrow strait._
9. A bird that feeds by stealing prey other birds have already caught.
   - Simple: A seabird that steals food caught by other birds.
   - _A pirate harried the tern until it released its meal in mid-air._
   - _Skuas behave as pirates, robbing other birds of their hard-won prey._
11. A specific kind of marble used by children in playground games.
   - Simple: A type of marble used in children's games.
   - _The boy traded a pirate for two ordinary marbles._
   - _Their pockets were full of pirates after the lunchtime match._

## Verb

3. To make or sell an unauthorized copy of a protected work.
   - Simple: To copy and sell something like a movie or song without permission.
   - _Vendors pirate popular software and burn it onto cheap discs._
   - _He pirated the studio's latest film and posted it online._
5. To engage in robbery and plunder at sea.
   - Simple: To rob ships at sea as a criminal.
   - _Crews who pirate in these waters risk the gallows if caught._
   - _She pirated across the Indian Ocean for nearly a decade._
6. To appropriate goods by piracy, plundering them from ships at sea.
   - Simple: To steal goods from ships by attacking them at sea.
   - _The crew would pirate spices and silk from eastern traders._
   - _They pirated the merchant's entire shipment of gold._
7. To knowingly obtain an unauthorized copy of a protected work.
   - Simple: To get a copy of something like a movie or song without permission.
   - _She pirated the film from a sketchy website._
   - _Teenagers often pirate music rather than pay for it._
10. To entice an employee away from a competing company to join your own. *(Philippines)*
   - Simple: To convince a worker to leave a rival company and join yours.
   - _The startup pirated three top designers from a larger agency._
   - _Established firms pirate ruthlessly whenever fresh talent enters the market._

## Adjective

8. Illegally copied or imitated, said of a trademarked product, a copyrighted work, or the fake copy itself.
   - Simple: Made as an illegal copy of a product or creative work.
   - _Customs officers seized thousands of pirate handbags at the port._
   - _He was caught running a pirate streaming service from his apartment._

## Origin

The word came into Middle English from Old French pirate, from Latin pīrāta 'pirate', from Ancient Greek peiratḗs, from peîra ('trial, attempt, plot'). It replaced the native Old English word wīċing, which meant both 'pirate' and 'viking'.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/pirate (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).