as in alcohol
illegally produced liquor
getting caught with bootleg during Prohibition could have resulted in a jail sentence
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in unauthorized
made or sold illegally
During the Prohibition era, many people made their own bootleg whiskey. He was arrested for selling bootleg copies of the album.
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
as in to smuggle
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of bootleg
Daniel Popper, New York Times, 26 Jan. 2026
Maye knocked out the Broncos by scampering all alone to his left on a third-down naked bootleg, Josh McDaniels’ best play-call on a day of bad weather and good defense.
—Andrew Callahan, Hartford Courant, 26 Jan. 2026
Al Shipley, SPIN, 25 Dec. 2024
The quarterback can bootleg in and out of the perimeter of cameras, as the testing aims to simulate as many football movements as possible.
—Jourdan Rodrigue, The Athletic, 27 Aug. 2024
See All Example Sentences for bootleg
Noun
The Chargers did not incorporate enough play-action bootleg into their offense over the last two years.
—Daniel Popper, New York Times, 26 Jan. 2026
Maye knocked out the Broncos by scampering all alone to his left on a third-down naked bootleg, Josh McDaniels’ best play-call on a day of bad weather and good defense.
—Andrew Callahan, Hartford Courant, 26 Jan. 2026
Verb
Living in Woodstock, New York, Dylan spent a lot of time in nearby Saugerties at the Band’s famous Big Pink house, recording dozens of songs that were heavily bootlegged and sometimes sent to other artists to record.
—Al Shipley, SPIN, 25 Dec. 2024
The quarterback can bootleg in and out of the perimeter of cameras, as the testing aims to simulate as many football movements as possible.
—Jourdan Rodrigue, The Athletic, 27 Aug. 2024
See All Example Sentences for bootleg
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bootleg
Noun
-
Fruit, ginger shots, sea moss beverages, tea, and water were on hand, in alignment with her alcohol-free rider and commitment to sobriety.—
DeMicia Inman,
VIBE.com,
18 Mar. 2026
-
But one arena that California has lagged far behind the rest of the nation is in the combination of cannabis and alcohol sales.—
Jeff Burkhart,
Mercury News,
18 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
For almost two hours last week, Meta employees had unauthorized access to company and user data thanks to an AI agent that gave an employee inaccurate technical advice, as previously reported by The Information.—
Stevie Bonifield,
The Verge,
19 Mar. 2026
-
In addition to disabling its national lookup feature for all of California and prohibiting the formation of data sharing relationships between agencies inside and out of the state, Simmons said the company has also agreed to pay a $290,000 fee for any unauthorized data disclosures.—
Sierra Lopez,
Mercury News,
18 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Ecuador is struggling to contain drug violence as rival cartels battle for control of coastal ports used to smuggle cocaine to the United States.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
16 Mar. 2026
-
Joel, played by Pedro Pascal, a hardened survivor, is hired to smuggle Ellie (Bella Ramsey), a 14-year-old girl, out of an oppressive quarantine zone.—
Rosy Cordero,
Deadline,
16 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Besides abstaining from booze, scientists also don’t have a bulletproof way to prevent hangovers.—
Lauren J. Young,
Scientific American,
17 Mar. 2026
-
In the mid-1970s, the long net of the Florida Keys swept up a generation of countercultural refuse in a web of free love, plentiful drugs, and cheap booze.—
Jack Crosbie,
Rolling Stone,
17 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
And very early on, Walt was thinking beyond the screen – from movies, music, and television, to merchandise, publishing, and theme parks.—
Jill Goldsmith,
Deadline,
18 Mar. 2026
-
The company is trying to deploy AI tools on everything from inventory planning to merchandising to product development.—
Jasmin Malik Chua,
Sourcing Journal,
10 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Staff are happy to offer local recommendations for food, drink, hikes, and more, or to help arrange gear for a beach day or hike.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
19 Mar. 2026
-
Limit alcohol and drinks high in sugar or caffeine, which can accelerate dehydration.—
Hannah Dreyfus,
AZCentral.com,
19 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The parking lot was eventually fenced off after multiple attempts by the city to get CVS and the property owner to better safeguard what was once an anchor property for Snelling-University, two of the city’s busiest commerical corridors.—
Frederick Melo,
Twin Cities,
18 Mar. 2026
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But satellite photos published by the New York Times and Washington Post show that it was fenced off between 2013 and 2016, watchtowers were removed and public entrances had been created.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
13 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The other spirits, including the moonshine, can be found at websites like Total Wine now.—
Jonah Flicker,
Robb Report,
20 Feb. 2026
-
Fans in southern Ohio and northern Kentucky haven’t been this excited since the invention of moonshine.—
Kevin Cusick,
Twin Cities,
5 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Bootleg.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bootleg. Accessed 24 Mar. 2026.
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