# piracy vs pirate

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### piracy
*noun · IPA /ˈpaɪɹəsi/ · frequency rank #14,613*
Robbery at sea, a violation of international law; taking a ship away from the control of those who are legally entitled to it.

### pirate
*noun · IPA /ˈpaɪɹət/ · frequency rank #7,593*
A criminal who plunders at sea; commonly attacking merchant vessels, though often pillaging port towns.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/piracy-vs-pirate