pirating

Pluralpiratings (some meanings)

1. 1
   verb

   Present participle and gerund of pirate.

   He is pirating copyrighted music and uploading it to several forums.

   Pirating their competitor's designs, the firm skipped years of research.

   Note

   The -ing form carries every use of the verb, from plunder at sea to unauthorized copying. It usually takes an object, as in pirating software or pirating a rival's designs, but it can also stand alone in the sense of engaging in piracy. In Philippine English it also covers luring an employee away from a competing company. The same spelling serves as a noun for the act of piracy.

2. 2
   noununcountable

   The carrying out of piracy, especially the unlawful copying or distribution of someone else's creative work.

   Pirating costs the music and film industries billions of dollars each year.

   He was prosecuted for pirating after he was caught reselling counterfeit discs.

   Similarpiracy, bootlegging, counterfeiting

3. 3
   nouncountable

   An unauthorized copy of a book, recording, film, or other work, reproduced without the permission of whoever holds the rights.

   Piratings swell the title list further. Moreover, subsequent editions (or piratings) were often printed with no changes from previous editions, apart from a new title page.

   1993, Richard Leppert, Music and Image

   Similarbootleg

   Note

   A countable noun for the copy itself rather than the practice. It takes a plural, piratings, and sits naturally beside editions and reprints. Richard Leppert's Music and Image (1993) uses it for printed editions: piratings swelled the title list, and they were often reprinted unchanged apart from a new title page. Keep it distinct from the act of piracy, which names the practice rather than the object.

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