bootleg 1 of 3

noun

ˈbüt-ˌleg How to pronounce bootleg (audio)
Definition of bootlegnext
as in alcohol
illegally produced liquor getting caught with bootleg during Prohibition could have resulted in a jail sentence

Synonyms & Similar Words

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bootleg

2 of 3

adjective

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

bootleg

3 of 3

verb

as in to smuggle

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Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of bootleg
Noun
There were no vendors hawking bootleg royal-wedding merch, no screaming lines of fans, not even that many impromptu sing-alongs (some were solicited by journalists looking for content). — Zach Schiffman, Curbed, 6 July 2026 Yolo County prosecutors have said he was connected to the bootleg fireworks that killed the girl. — Joe Rubin, Sacbee.com, 4 July 2026
Verb
After the songs were bootlegged for years, Coe began selling them on his website in 2000, though without his name on them. — Victoria Edel, PEOPLE, 30 Apr. 2026 With Dallas leading 27-21 and San Francisco driving late in the fourth quarter, Joe Montana and the 49ers lined up in a split formation, with Montana bootlegging out to the right upon taking the snap. — R.j. Coyle, Dallas Morning News, 25 Jan. 2026 See All Example Sentences for bootleg
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bootleg
  1. alcohol
  2. unauthorized
  3. smuggle
  4. booze
  5. merchandise
  6. drink
  7. fence
  8. moonshine
Noun
  • State police have arrested a man in connection with a fatal head-on crash in Middlefield last August after investigators found that his blood alcohol content was allegedly more than twice the legal limit.
    — Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 15 Aug. 2026
  • Younger generations drink less alcohol in general and are less likely to choose wine.
    — Iris Kwok, Los Angeles Times, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of alcohol
Adjective
  • Residents have also voiced concerns about unauthorized people in other parts of the building.
    — Tim McNicholas, CBS News, 14 Aug. 2026
  • Whatever the judge ultimately decides, the case will continue on copyright claims involving allegedly unauthorized samples of sound recordings owned by the plaintiffs.
    — Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of unauthorized
Verb
  • Jester called his mother after she was caught smuggling the fentanyl.
    — Matthew Ormseth, Los Angeles Times, 14 Aug. 2026
  • Taiwanese authorities in March investigated three men for trying to smuggle Super Micro computer servers containing advanced Nvidia chips to China.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of smuggle
Noun
  • In response, the town shifted its marketing to late-night booze-ups and wedding parties (known, in British parlance, as stag dos and hen dos), and subsequently grew a reputation as a sandcastle Sodom.
    — George Francis Lee, New Yorker, 12 Aug. 2026
  • Wallace and his partners would simply walk in the stores, grab bottles of booze and walk out without paying, BSO spokeswoman Claudinne Caro said.
    — David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of booze
Verb
  • In fact, the team’s estimate for the film’s end budget, after merchandising costs and fees, is essentially the same as one first-season episode of a half-hour comedy on a streaming network.
    — Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 18 Aug. 2026
  • In our study, the participating retailer similarly attributed the growing performance of several accessories largely to improved cross-selling and learning about how to merchandise them effectively.
    — Ayşe Çetinel, Harvard Business Review, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of merchandise
Noun
  • Modern Druidic offerings often take the form of (usually vegetarian) food and drink, including alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 14 Aug. 2026
  • In the offer, consumers get an entrée, chips and salsa and a non-alcoholic drink.
    — Alex Harring, CNBC, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of drink
Verb
  • Today, it's fenced off and closed to the public, with windows that have been vandalized and boarded up.
    — James Taylor, CBS News, 20 Aug. 2026
  • The shoreline below has been fenced off for more than two years, pending the removal of old wood pilings.
    — Jake Offenhartz, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of fence
Noun
  • The Carnaval de Guaranda, for instance, takes inspiration from a rowdy annual fiesta held in the Bolivar Province and is made with vodka, hops, figs, white truffle, turmeric, and a local moonshine called pájaro azul.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 July 2026
  • Barthel laments that anti-cannabis laws encouraged growers to develop highly potent strains, just as Prohibition in the 1920s put potentially lethal moonshine into circulation.
    — Martha Ross, Mercury News, 6 July 2026
Definition of moonshine

Browse Nearby Words

booting (up)
bootleg
bootlegged
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Cite this Entry

“Bootleg.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bootleg. Accessed 21 Aug. 2026.

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