warez

noun

1. (Internet, Leet, dated, uncountable, usually)Software that is illegally obtained or distributed.

   “By the end of the day Mad Hatter, a ringleader of the software piracy group called the Inner Circle, will have poured 300 Mbytes of illegal “warez” onto the Internet.”

   “Too many gamers see nothing wrong with downloading “warez” (usually pronounced “wares,” but also “wah-rez”), retail software products that have been “ripped” to make them smaller and remove copy protection.”

   “Warez appeared in the 1980s with the advent of Bulletin Board Systems.”

verb

1. (Internet, Leet, dated)To obtain a copy of (software or other works of authorship) illegally.

   “Many of these keys are, obviously, being used by people who've warezed XP, but there's also a reasonably large number of software professionals and refuseniks who have used them even though they have a legitimately bought version of XP.”

   “Warezed SoundForge Files In Windows Media Player [title]”