pirate

pirate

I

pi‧rate¹ /ˈpaɪərət $ ˈpaɪrət/ noun [countable]1. someone who sails on the seas, attacking other boats and stealing things from them ⇨ piracy
2. someone who dishonestly copies and sells another person’s work ⇨ piracy:
    Computer game pirates cost the industry twenty million pounds a year.
    pirate videos/CDs/software etc
3. pirate radio/TV (station) illegal radio or television broadcasts, or the station sending them out
—piratical /paɪˈrætɪkəl, pə-/ adjective literary
     

THESAURUS

■ different types of criminal
   ▪ thief someone who steals things: Car thieves have been working in the area. | The thieves stole over £5,000 worth of jewellery.
   ▪ robber someone who steals money or valuable things from a bank, shop etc – used especially when someone sees the person who is stealing: a masked robber armed with a shotgun | They were the most successful bank robbers in US history.
   ▪ burglar someone who goes into people’s homes in order to steal: The burglars broke in through a window.
   ▪ shoplifter someone who takes things from shops without paying for them: The cameras have helped the store catch several shoplifters.
   ▪ pickpocket someone who steals things from people’s pockets, especially in a crowd: A sign warned that pickpockets were active in the station.
   ▪ conman/fraudster someone who deceives people in order to get money or things: Conmen tricked the woman into giving them her savings, as an ‘investment’.
   ▪ forger someone who illegally copies official documents, money, artworks etc: a forger who fooled museum curators
   ▪ counterfeiter someone who illegally copies money, official documents, or goods: Counterfeiters in Colombia are printing almost perfect dollar bills.
   ▪ pirate someone who illegally copies and sells another person’s work: DVD pirates
   ▪ mugger someone who attacks and robs people in public places: Muggers took his money and mobile phone.
   ▪ murderer someone who deliberately kills someone else: His murderer was sentenced to life imprisonment. | the murderer of civil rights activist Medgar Evers | He is a mass murderer (=someone who kills a large number of people).
   ▪ serial killer someone who kills several people, one after the other over a period of time, in a similar way: Shipman was a trusted family doctor who became Britain's worst serial killer.
   ▪ rapist someone who forces someone else to have sex: Some rapists drug their victims so that they become unconscious.
   ▪ sex offender someone who is guilty of a crime related to sex: Too many sex offenders are released from prison early.
   ▪ vandal someone who deliberately damages public property: Vandals broke most of the school’s windows.
   ▪ arsonist someone who deliberately sets fire to a building: The warehouse fire may have been the work of an arsonist.

II

pirate² verb [transitive]
to illegally copy and sell another person’s work such as a book, video, or computer program:
    pirated video tapes
     

THESAURUS

   ▪ copy to deliberately make or produce something that is exactly like another thing: You could copy the files onto a CD. | Many people have tried to copy his paintings.
   ▪ photocopy to copy a piece of paper with writing or pictures on it, using a machine: I’ll photocopy the letter and give it to you.
   ▪ reproduce to print a copy of a picture or document, especially in a book or newspaper: The image has been reproduced in many magazines and newspapers around the world.
   ▪ forge to illegally copy something written or printed: He forged my signature. | forged £10 notes
   ▪ pirate to illegally copy and sell something such as a book, video, DVD, or computer program: The survey suggests that 27% of software in the UK has been pirated.