1. Someone who robs at sea or plunders the land from the sea without having a commission from any sovereign nation
   "The pirate's ship was feared throughout the Caribbean";
   - buccaneer, sea robber, sea rover
    
2. Someone who uses another person's words or ideas as if they were their own
   "a self-confessed literary pirate";
   - plagiarist, plagiarizer, plagiariser [Brit], literary pirate
    
3. A ship that is manned by pirates
   "The pirate ship hoisted its black flag as it approached the merchant vessel";
   - pirate ship

1. Take arbitrarily or by force
   "Pirates pirated the cargo ship's contents";
   - commandeer, hijack, highjack [rare]
    
2. (crime) copy illegally; of published material
   "They pirated the latest blockbuster movie"; "The company pirated software and sold it at a discount"
    
3. Broadcast radio or TV signals without authorization
   "The rebel group pirates their messages on stolen frequencies"

Derived forms: pirated, pirating, pirates

Type of: despoiler, freebooter, looter, pillager, plunderer, raider, ransacker, rip [N. Amer, informal], rip off [informal], seize, ship, spoiler, steal, stealer, thief

Encyclopedia: Pirate