smuggler

noun

smug·​gler ˈsmə-glər 

plural smugglers

: one who smuggles something

The traffic in drugs—especially cocaine—to Florida by sea and air from South America has been generating wealth to rival that of the tourist trade and attracting a cadre of ingenious and ruthless smugglers from around the world.

—Jeremiah Tax

In nearby Nogales smugglers tunnel 6 ft. under the border and funnel people through.

—Terry McCarthy

Officials in Paraguay raided a wildlife smuggling operation in its capital city, Asunción, on March 25, recovering two critically endangered Brazilian parrots, which Paraguayan smugglers had hoped to sell in West Germany for $40,000.

—Focus

Synonyms

• runner
• courier
• bootlegger
• mule [slang]

Examples of smuggler in a Sentence

during Prohibition, smugglers of alcohol did a brisk business

Recent Examples on the Web

Since the ability to smuggle in narcotics and humans by simply walking over the border has been eliminated, smugglers are now forced to think of another way to enter our nation. —Mike Garcia, Oc Register, 11 Aug. 2025

The Mossad had developed contacts with smugglers — and often with the government intelligence agencies — in all seven nations. —Yossi Melman, ProPublica, 7 Aug. 2025

Human smugglers, often linked to drug cartels, have used tunnels, ladders and power tools to cross walls. —Sydney Lake, Fortune, 26 June 2025

That event drives the Buckleys down a dark path that eventually pits them in the middle of two warring drug kingpins, the Parker family and a notorious smuggler named Grady (Topher Grace). —Keith Langston, People.com, 21 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1661, in the meaning defined above