warez

Definition

Software that is illegally obtained or distributed.

Etymology

The leetspeak form of wares, as a contraction of software.

Example Sentences

• "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."