noun Internet Slang

Warez

/wɛərz/ · noun · slang

Pirated, cracked software distributed illegally, a cornerstone term of old BBS and scene culture.

0

Definitions

1

Used attributively for the underground subculture around piracy.

“Warez groups race to be the first to crack a new release.”
by community
0
2

By extension, any pirated digital media — games, apps, or tools — circulated in 'the scene'.

“He grew up trading warez on dial-up before broadband existed.”
by community
0
3

Commercial software that has been cracked to remove copy protection and shared without a license.

“The old BBS had a hidden warez directory you needed access to see.”
by community
0

Warez In A Sentence

Distributing warez is copyright infringement, plain and simple.
The forum had a strict no-warez rule to avoid getting shut down.
Old warez sites were notorious for malware-laced downloads.

Origin & Usage

A respelling of 'wares' (as in software) that emerged in 1980s BBS and 'scene' piracy culture, with the '-z' plural marking underground slang. Documented in the Jargon File and early hacker glossaries.

Variants warezzw4r3zappz
Tags #leet#1337#gaming#internet#digital#piracy

People Also Ask

What does warez mean?

It refers to pirated, cracked software shared illegally, a term from 1980s BBS culture.

Where did the word warez come from?

It's a respelling of 'wares' (software), with the '-z' marking it as scene/underground slang.

Is downloading warez illegal?

Yes, distributing or downloading cracked commercial software is copyright infringement in most jurisdictions.

Comments 0