plagiarize

IPA/ˈpleɪdʒəraɪz/
KK[plˈedʒɚˌaɪz]IPA/ˈpleɪdʒəraɪz/

plagiarize — verb

  • plagiarizepresent simple I / you / we / they
  • plagiarizeshe / she / it
  • plagiarizedpast simple
  • plagiarizing-ing form

1. to take someone else's writing, ideas, or creative work and present it as if you

1.verbtransitiveB2
Definition

to take someone else's writing, ideas, or creative work and present it as if you created it yourself, without naming the real source

Example

Rodrigo plagiarized three paragraphs from an online article for his history essay.

plagiarize + from [source]

The university expelled Karim after he plagiarized his entire final paper.

Common collocations
  • plagiarize an essay
  • plagiarize a paper
  • plagiarize a passage
  • plagiarize content
  • plagiarize from a website
Synonyms
  • copy

    broader term; can be done with or without permission or deception

  • steal

    stronger and more emotional; also covers physical theft, not just ideas

  • infringe

    legal term focused on violating rights rather than the act of deception

Antonyms
  • cite

    to name the original source of information or ideas

  • credit

    to acknowledge the creator of a work or idea

Grammar Patterns

plagiarize + noun/noun phrase

plagiarize + from + source

Usage Note

Common in academic and professional settings. The object is usually a piece of writing, an idea, or a creative work — rarely a physical object. American spelling: 'plagiarize'; British English also accepts 'plagiarise'.

Common Mistakes

I plagiarized several sources in my bibliography.
I cited several sources in my bibliography.
'plagiarize' means stealing without credit; 'cite' means giving proper credit to a source.
She quoted the passage, which is plagiarizing.
She quoted the passage and gave credit, so it is not plagiarizing.
quoting with proper attribution is not plagiarism.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

Plagiarize, copy, steal, infringe, and pirate all involve taking someone else's work, but they differ in key ways. Plagiarize always involves deception — you pretend the work is your own — and it applies specifically to ideas, writing, and creative output. Copy is broader and morally neutral: you can copy notes for a friend without any wrongdoing. Steal is emotionally stronger and covers physical objects as well as ideas; it emphasises the harm done to the owner. Infringe is a legal term that focuses on violating copyright or other rights, not on whether you claimed the work as your own. Pirate refers to large-scale unauthorised copying and distribution, usually of software, films, or music, and implies a commercial or organised element. For example, a student who copies a paragraph into an essay without attribution is plagiarizing; a factory that prints thousands of fake textbooks is pirating.

copy ↗steal ↗infringe ↗pirate ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • plagiarize content
  • plagiarize work
  • plagiarize material

Adverbs

  • blatantly plagiarize
  • directly plagiarize
  • knowingly plagiarize

Phrases

  • accused of plagiarizing
  • caught plagiarizing

Prepositions

  • plagiarize from

Etymology

LatinEnglish

Plagiarize comes from the Latin word 'plagiarius,' meaning 'kidnapper' — someone who steals another person's child or slave. The root 'plagium' meant 'kidnapping,' which came from 'plaga' (a net or snare). The shift to 'literary thief' happened in the early 1600s, when the Roman poet Martial used 'plagiarius' to describe another writer who had stolen his verses. English borrowed the idea and turned it into 'plagiarize' by the 1700s, keeping the core image of stealing something precious that belongs to someone else.

First known use

1660

1660, in the meaning defined at transitive sense