PIRATE | Meaning, Definition In Cambridge English Dictionary

Meaning of pirate in English piratenoun [ C ] uk /ˈpaɪ.rət/ us /ˈpaɪr.ət/

pirate noun [C] (SHIPS)

Add to word list Add to word list B1 a person who sails in a ship and attacks other ships in order to steal from them Miscellaneous criminals

• arsonist
• artifice burglar
• bigamist
• bioterrorist
• black hat
• distraction burglar
• distraction thief
• drug dealer
• embezzler
• expropriator
• launderer
• looter
• lowlife
• man of straw
• money launderer
• scam artist
• scofflaw
• script kiddie
• shicer
• shoplifter

See more results »

pirate noun [C] (MOVIES/MUSIC)

a person who illegally copies music, films, computer programs, etc., and sells them: software pirates  pirate radio/television station a radio or television station that broadcasts without official permission: The trailer was being used to house a pirate radio station. See more Miscellaneous criminals

• arsonist
• artifice burglar
• bigamist
• bioterrorist
• black hat
• distraction burglar
• distraction thief
• drug dealer
• embezzler
• expropriator
• launderer
• looter
• lowlife
• man of straw
• money launderer
• scam artist
• scofflaw
• script kiddie
• shicer
• shoplifter

See more results »

Related word

piratical pirateverb [ T ] uk /ˈpaɪ.rət/ us /ˈpaɪr.ət/ to illegally copy a computer program, music, a film, etc. and sell it Forgery

• anti-counterfeiting
• anti-piracy
• bootleg
• counterfeit
• fake
• faker
• forge
• forged document
• forgery
• hijack
• hijacking
• knockoff
• piracy
• pirated
• plagiarism
• plagiarize
• self-plagiarism

You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Copying and copies

Related word

pirated (Definition of pirate from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

pirate | American Dictionary

pirateverb [ T ] us /ˈpɑɪ·rət/

pirate verb [T] (COPY)

Add to word list Add to word list to illegally copy and sell something, such as recorded music, a film, etc., without permission: A lot of this software is pirated. piratenoun [ C ] us /ˈpɑɪ·rət/

pirate noun [C] (SEA THIEF)

a person who sails on the sea and attacks and steals from other ships (Definition of pirate from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

pirate | Business English

piratenoun [ C ] uk /ˈpaɪrət/ us Add to word list Add to word list IT, LAW a person or organization that makes illegal copies of software, films, recordings, etc., to sell them at much cheaper prices: Copyright laws have introduced tough new sentences for software pirates. In order to deal with the pirate industry, technology has had to be supplemented by legislation. pirate CD/DVD/software pirate movies/music/goods pirate copy/download TRANSPORT a person who attacks ships to steal from them: The pirates attempted to board the oil tanker.  pirate radio station a radio station that broadcasts illegally: Several pirate radio stations were run by the rebel fighters. pirateverb [ T ]   IT, LAW uk /ˈpaɪrət/ us to make illegal copies of software, films, recordings, etc., to sell them at much cheaper prices: The factory manager claims his employees are not pirating famous brands. More than 90% of all CDs, DVDs, and computer software sold in the region have been pirated.

pirating

noun [ U ] the pirating of computer software on the internet (Definition of pirate from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press) What is the pronunciation of pirate?

Translations of pirate

in Chinese (Traditional) 水手, 海盜, 複製… See more in Chinese (Simplified) 水手, 海盗, 复制… See more in Spanish pirata, piratear, pirata [masculine-feminine]… See more in Portuguese pirata, pirata [masculine], piratear… See more in Marathi in Japanese in Turkish in French in Catalan in Dutch in Tamil in Hindi in Gujarati in Danish in Swedish in Malay in German in Norwegian in Urdu in Ukrainian in Telugu in Bengali in Czech in Indonesian in Thai in Vietnamese in Polish in Korean in Italian समुद्रावरील चाचे… See more 海賊（ぞく）, 海賊（かいぞく）, 海賊版（かいぞくばん）を出（だ）す… See more korsan, korsan üretim/baskı yapan, korsan baskı/üretim/çoğaltım yapmak… See more pirate [masculine], pirater, (de) pirate… See more pirata… See more zeerover, piraat, plagiëren… See more ஒரு கப்பலில் பயணித்து, அவர்களிடமிருந்து திருடுவதற்காக மற்ற கப்பல்களைத் தாக்கும் ஒரு நபர்… See more जल दस्यु, समुद्री डाकू… See more દરિયાઈ ચાંચિયો… See more sørøver, sørøver-, pirat… See more pirat, sjörövare, pirat[-förläggare… See more lanun, pencetak rompak, mencetak rompak… See more der Pirat, Piraten-…, Piraten…… See more pirat [masculine], sjørøver [masculine], piratkopiere… See more بحری قزاق… See more пірат, порушувати авторське право, займатися піратством… See more సముద్రపు దొంగ/ ఓడలో ప్రయాణిస్తూ, ఇతర నౌకలపై దాడి చేసి దొంగిలించే వ్యక్తి… See more জলদস্যু… See more pirát(ský), vydat bez povolení… See more bajak laut, pembajak, membajak… See more โจรสลัด, ผู้ละเมิดลิขสิทธิ์, ละเมิดลิขสิทธิ์… See more cướp biển, người xâm phạm tác quyền, sao chép bất hợp pháp… See more pirat, kopiować nielegalnie, piratować… See more 해적… See more pirata, (riprodurre senza permesso)… See more Need a translator?

Get a quick, free translation!

Translator tool

Browse

piqued piracetam piracy piranha pirate pirate radio/television station phrase pirated piratical piratically {{#randomImageQuizHook.filename}} {{#randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} Test your vocabulary with our fun image quizzes Try a quiz now {{/randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{^randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{/randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{/randomImageQuizHook.filename}}

More meanings of pirate

• porch pirate
• pirate radio/television station phrase

See all meanings

• pirate radio/television station phrase

Word of the Day

stuffed up

UK /ˌstʌft ˈʌp/ US /ˌstʌft ˈʌp/

If you are stuffed up, your nose is blocked with mucus, usually because you have a cold.

About this

Blog

Throwing a punch or throwing your head back: using the verb ‘throw’

March 04, 2026 Read More

New Words

fail watching March 09, 2026 More new words has been added to list To top AI Assistant Contents EnglishAmericanBusinessTranslations AI Assistant {{#displayLoginPopup}} Cambridge Dictionary +Plus

Learn more with +Plus

Sign up for free and get access to exclusive content: Free word lists and quizzes from Cambridge Tools to create your own word lists and quizzes Word lists shared by our community of dictionary fans Sign up now or Log in Cambridge Dictionary +Plus

Learn more with +Plus

Create word lists and quizzes for free Sign up now or Log in {{/displayLoginPopup}} {{#displayClassicSurvey}} {{/displayClassicSurvey}}

• Cambridge Dictionary +Plus
• My profile
• +Plus help
• Log out

AI Assistant Dictionary Definitions Clear explanations of natural written and spoken English English Learner’s Dictionary Essential British English Essential American English Translations Click on the arrows to change the translation direction. Bilingual Dictionaries English–Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Simplified)–English English–Chinese (Traditional) Chinese (Traditional)–English English–Danish Danish–English English–Dutch Dutch–English English–French French–English English–German German–English English–Indonesian Indonesian–English English–Italian Italian–English English–Japanese Japanese–English English–Norwegian Norwegian–English English–Polish Polish–English English–Portuguese Portuguese–English English–Spanish Spanish–English English–Swedish Swedish–English Semi-bilingual Dictionaries English–Arabic English–Bengali English–Catalan English–Czech English–Gujarati English–Hindi English–Korean English–Malay English–Marathi English–Russian English–Tamil English–Telugu English–Thai English–Turkish English–Ukrainian English–Urdu English–Vietnamese Translate Grammar Thesaurus Pronunciation Cambridge Dictionary +Plus Games {{userName}}

• Cambridge Dictionary +Plus
• My profile
• +Plus help
• Log out

Log in / Sign up English (UK) Change English (UK) English (US) Español Português 中文 (简体) 正體中文 (繁體) Dansk Deutsch Français Italiano Nederlands Norsk Polski Русский Türkçe Tiếng Việt Svenska Українська 日本語 한국어 ગુજરાતી தமிழ் తెలుగు বাঙ্গালি मराठी हिंदी Follow us Choose a dictionary

• Recent and Recommended {{#preferredDictionaries}} {{name}} {{/preferredDictionaries}}
• Definitions Clear explanations of natural written and spoken English English Learner’s Dictionary Essential British English Essential American English
• Grammar and thesaurus Usage explanations of natural written and spoken English Grammar Thesaurus
• Pronunciation British and American pronunciations with audio English Pronunciation
• Translation Click on the arrows to change the translation direction. Bilingual Dictionaries
  • English–Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Simplified)–English
  • English–Chinese (Traditional) Chinese (Traditional)–English
  • English–Danish Danish–English
  • English–Dutch Dutch–English
  • English–French French–English
  • English–German German–English
  • English–Indonesian Indonesian–English
  • English–Italian Italian–English
  • English–Japanese Japanese–English
  • English–Norwegian Norwegian–English
  • English–Polish Polish–English
  • English–Portuguese Portuguese–English
  • English–Spanish Spanish–English
  • English–Swedish Swedish–English
  Semi-bilingual Dictionaries English–Arabic English–Bengali English–Catalan English–Czech English–Gujarati English–Hindi English–Korean English–Malay English–Marathi English–Russian English–Tamil English–Telugu English–Thai English–Turkish English–Ukrainian English–Urdu English–Vietnamese
• Dictionary +Plus Word Lists

Choose your language English (UK) English (US) Español Português 中文 (简体) 正體中文 (繁體) Dansk Deutsch Français Italiano Nederlands Norsk Polski Русский Türkçe Tiếng Việt Svenska Українська 日本語 한국어 ગુજરાતી தமிழ் తెలుగు বাঙ্গালি मराठी हिंदी Contents

• English   
  • Noun 
    • pirate (SHIPS)
    • pirate (MOVIES/MUSIC)
    • pirate radio/television station
  Verb
• American   
  • Verb 
    • pirate (COPY)
  • Noun 
    • pirate (SEA THIEF)
• Business   
  • Noun 
    • pirate
    • pirate radio station
  • Verb 
    • pirate
  • Noun 
    • pirating

• Translations
• Grammar
• All translations

My word lists

To add pirate to a word list please sign up or log in.

Sign up or Log in My word lists

Add pirate to one of your lists below, or create a new one.

{{#verifyErrors}}

{{message}}

{{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{#message}}

{{message}}

{{/message}} {{^message}}

Something went wrong.

{{/message}} {{/verifyErrors}} {{name}} More Go to your word lists {{#verifyErrors}}

{{message}}

{{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{#message}}

{{message}}

{{/message}} {{^message}}

Something went wrong.

{{/message}} {{/verifyErrors}} Tell us about this example sentence: The word in the example sentence does not match the entry word. The sentence contains offensive content. Cancel Submit Thanks! Your feedback will be reviewed. {{#verifyErrors}}

{{message}}

{{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{#message}}

{{message}}

{{/message}} {{^message}}

There was a problem sending your report.

{{/message}} {{/verifyErrors}} The word in the example sentence does not match the entry word. The sentence contains offensive content. Cancel Submit Thanks! Your feedback will be reviewed. {{#verifyErrors}}

{{message}}

{{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{#message}}

{{message}}

{{/message}} {{^message}}

There was a problem sending your report.

{{/message}} {{/verifyErrors}}