plagiarism

UK: /ˈpleɪdʒərɪzəm/

US: /ˈpleɪdʒəˌrɪzəm/

US: (plā′jə riz′əm, -jē ə riz′-)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

pla•gia•rism /ˈpleɪdʒəˌrɪzəm/   n. 

1. [uncountable] the act of stealing another's ideas, written passages, concepts, etc., as one's own:
   The teacher suspected plagiarism when the student handed in a paper that relied heavily on the ideas of Emerson but never mentioned him.
2. a piece of writing so taken or used:
   [countable] His speech contained a plagiarism from a British politician.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

pla•gia•rism  (plā′jə riz′əm, -jē ə riz′-), n. 

1. Literature the unauthorized use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one's own original work.
2. Literature something used and represented in this manner.

• plagiar(y) + -ism 1615–25

pla′gia•rist, n. 
pla′gia•ris′tic, adj. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

plagiarism / ˈpleɪdʒəˌrɪzəm/ noun

1. the act of plagiarizing
2. something plagiarized

ˈplagiarist noun

ˌplagiaˈristic adjective