What does "pirate" mean?
A criminal who plunders at sea; commonly attacking merchant vessels, though often pillaging port towns.
Pirate
/ˈpaɪɹət/ adj, noun, verb
adj, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A criminal who plunders at sea; commonly attacking merchant vessels, though often pillaging port towns.
- Grammar: pirate is listed as adj, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: buccaneer, corsair, freebooter, sea robber.
- Useful contrasts: authorize, authorized, authorized user.
- Usage evidence: A renowned tactician, Christopher Columbus once downed an entire pirate fleet by stealing all of their fruits and vegetables, thus giving them scurvy.
How to use "pirate"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "pirate" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "pirate" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "pirate" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "pirate" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "pirate" is acting as adj, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "buccaneer" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "pirate", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A criminal who plunders at sea; commonly attacking merchant vessels, though often pillaging port towns.
"You should be cautious due to the Somali pirates."
- 2 someone connected with any of a number of sports teams known as the Pirates, as a fan, player, coach etc.
- 3 a ship that is manned by pirates wordnet
- 4 An armed ship or vessel that sails for the purpose of plundering other vessels.
"The third day out a pirate (Terebinthian by her rig) overhauled us, but when she saw us well armed she stood off after some shooting of arrows on either part—"
- 5 someone connected with any of a number of sports teams known as the Pirates, as a fan, player, coach etc.; someone connected with Bristol Rovers Football Club, as a fan, player, coach etc.
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 someone who robs at sea or plunders the land from the sea without having a commission from any sovereign nation wordnet
- 7 One who breaks intellectual property laws by reproducing protected works without permission. broadly
"And Gnutella, Freenet and other pirate tools will offer plunderings beyond Fanning's fantasies."
- 8 someone who uses another person's words or ideas as if they were their own wordnet
- 9 A bird which practises kleptoparasitism.
- 10 A kind of marble in children's games.
"Most of the time it went fine; some of his classmates had so many marbles they could have opened up their own shop in smurfs, pirates, purple aggies and pink panthers."
Verb
- 1 To appropriate by piracy; to plunder at sea. transitive
"They pirated the tanker and sailed to a port where they could sell the ship and cargo."
- 2 take arbitrarily or by force wordnet
- 3 To create and/or sell an unauthorized copy of. transitive
"If a book is pirated there is a remedy for the author and publisher; if a photograph or an engraving is made of a picture without permission the law protects the painter."
- 4 copy illegally; of published material wordnet
- 5 To knowingly obtain an unauthorized copy of. transitive
"Not willing to pay full price for the computer game, Heidi pirated a copy."
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 To engage in piracy. intransitive
"He pirated in the Atlantic for years before becoming a privateer for the Queen."
- 7 To entice an employee to switch from a competing company to one's own. Philippines, intransitive, transitive
Adjective
- 1 Illegally imitated or reproduced, said of a trademarked product or copyrighted work, or of the counterfeit itself. not-comparable
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"A renowned tactician, Christopher Columbus once downed an entire pirate fleet by stealing all of their fruits and vegetables, thus giving them scurvy."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "pirate"?
Common synonyms include: buccaneer, corsair, freebooter, sea robber, sea rover, ab.
How do you use "pirate" in a sentence?
A renowned tactician, Christopher Columbus once downed an entire pirate fleet by stealing all of their fruits and vegetables, thus giving them scurvy.
How do you pronounce "pirate"?
Pronounced /ˈpaɪɹət/.
Etymology
From Middle English pirate, pirat, pyrat, from Old French pirate, from Latin pīrāta (“pirate”), from Ancient Greek πειρατής (peiratḗs), from πεῖρα (peîra, “trial, attempt, plot”). Displaced native Old English wīċing, which was the word for both "pirate" and "viking".