plagiarism

/ˌpleɪdʒəˈrɪzəm/

/ˈpleɪdʒərɪzəm/

Other forms: plagiarisms

When you rip off someone else's ideas or work and pretend it's your own, that's plagiarism.

There's a fine line between borrowing and stealing — between plagiarism and theft — and it's often open to debate what actually constitutes an outright taking of someone's material. As Einstein once said, "The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources." From the Latin word for "kidnapped," when you plagiarize, you are being an intellectual thief, kidnapping someone else's ideas or words for your own purposes.

Definitions of plagiarism

1. noun

   the act of plagiarizing; taking someone's words or ideas as if they were your own
   synonyms: piracy, plagiarisation, plagiarization

   type of:

   copyright infringement, infringement of copyright

   a violation of the rights secured by a copyright
2. noun

   a piece of writing that has been copied from someone else and is presented as being your own work
   type of:

   piece of writing, writing, written material

   the work of a writer; anything expressed in letters of the alphabet (especially when considered from the point of view of style and effect)