Standard Lemma guide

biopiracy

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

The appropriation of indigenous biomedical knowledge, especially by patenting naturally occurring substances.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: derogatory, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

biological theft; illegal collection of indigenous plants by corporations who patent them for their own use

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: larceny, theft, thievery, thieving, stealing

History

Etymology

From bio- + piracy, coined by Canadian environmentalist Pat Roy Mooney in the early 1990s.

Across languages

Translations

7 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Finnish: biopiratismi — appropriation of biomedical knowledge
  • French: biopiraterie — appropriation of biomedical knowledge
  • French: biopiratage — appropriation of biomedical knowledge
  • German: Biopiraterie — appropriation of biomedical knowledge
  • Italian: biopirateria — appropriation of biomedical knowledge
  • Portuguese: biopirataria — appropriation of biomedical knowledge
  • Spanish: biopiratería — appropriation of biomedical knowledge