smuggle

verb smug·gle \ ˈsmə-gəl \

Updated on: 22 May 2018

Definition of smuggle

smuggled; smuggling play \-g(ə-)liŋ\

transitive verb

1 : to import or export secretly contrary to the law and especially without paying duties imposed by law

2 : to convey or introduce surreptitiously

intransitive verb

: to import or export something in violation of the customs laws

—

smuggler

play \ˈsmə-glər\ noun

See smuggle defined for English-language learners

See smuggle defined for kids

Examples of smuggle in a Sentence

He was arrested for smuggling drugs into the country.
They smuggled immigrants across the border.
The paintings had been smuggled out of the country before the war.
We smuggled his favorite sandwich past the nurse.

Recent Examples of smuggle from the Web

The corruption case stems from a plan Alberto Michel, 41, and two other men agreed to smuggle the drugs in August and September 2017.

— rafael carranza, azcentral, "Former Border Patrol agent sentenced for helping smuggle drugs into Arizona," 14 May 2018
The missionaries North Korea hates South Korean activists, many of them evangelical Christians who smuggle out defectors and send anti-Pyongyang literature and Bibles into the North through its border with China.

— kim tong-hyung, The Christian Science Monitor, "North Korean prisoner release brings hope, frustration to South," 11 May 2018
His campaign later clarified that this clever moniker refers to a 2014 incident Colombian authorities discovered smuggled cocaine on a cargo ship that was owned by the parents of McConnell's wife, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao.

— jay willis, GQ, "How a Candidate Who Out-Trumps Trump Might Win West Virginia's Republican Senate Primary, Explained," 7 May 2018
At Jezebel’s, a brothel that Fred takes her to, June is asked by the resistance, also known as Mayday, to smuggle a package to the outside.

— Vogue, "Everything You Need to Know About The Handmaid’s Tale Before You Watch Season 2," 24 Apr. 2018
In addition, a former IDOC correctional officer was charged in a separate indictment in conjunction with a former IDOC inmate and a Meridian woman, all three of whom are accused of extortion and a plan to smuggle contraband through an IDOC prison.

— nicole blanchard, idahostatesman, "4 Boise-area correctional officers accused of using jobs to aid drug traffickers | Idaho Statesman," 12 Apr. 2018
Serving hint: Vintage-looking, eco-friendly paper straws like these ($7 for 144, chasing-fireflies.com) would be pretty easy to smuggle, too.

— lauren oster, Redbook, "Pre-Prepped Picnic Cocktail: Kahlua Iced Coffee," 25 July 2012
For Niccol, the appeal of science fiction is its effectiveness as a Trojan horse—a go-to analogy for Niccol—that can smuggle tricky or challenging ideas onto the screen.

— darryn king, WIRED, "Director Andrew Niccol Lives in His Own Truman Show (And So Do You)," 4 May 2018
The game’s story unfolds through the perspectives of three nameless protagonists: a contract killer preparing a hit, a photographer exploring a forest, and a man smuggling mysterious VHS tapes across a border.

— adi robertson, The Verge, "Paratopic is a short, grimy horror game with a style straight out of 1998," 29 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'smuggle.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.