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.
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to smuggle
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 3 Apr. 2025
Read our new Sunday Review of the Beatles bootleg Live!
—Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 1 Apr. 2025
Susan Saulny, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Oct. 2024
Land of the Free, Home of the Bootleggers When technology made music mobile, the American South changed from one type of bootlegging industry to another: copying and selling records.
—JSTOR Daily, 24 June 2024
See All Example Sentences for bootleg
Noun
During the same year, Lansky joined Mafia hoodlum Joe Adonis in the operation of a major bootleg liquor operation in New York, apparently his first close association with the Mafia.
—Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 3 Apr. 2025
Read our new Sunday Review of the Beatles bootleg Live!
—Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 1 Apr. 2025
Verb
This was the era of Prohibition, dominated by bootlegging gangsters—Chicago alone was said to be home to 1,300 gangs—and some police departments adopted increasingly brutal tactics to wring the truth out of suspects: beating and burning detainees with cigarettes, or depriving them of sleep.
—Susan Saulny, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Oct. 2024
Land of the Free, Home of the Bootleggers When technology made music mobile, the American South changed from one type of bootlegging industry to another: copying and selling records.
—JSTOR Daily, 24 June 2024
See All Example Sentences for bootleg
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bootleg
Noun
-
His blood alcohol content was later found to be nearly twice the legal limit to drive a vehicle, state police said.—
Justin Muszynski,
Hartford Courant,
12 May 2025
-
These criteria include disorders related to alcohol, cannabis, cocaine, prescription drugs and other substances.—
Daniella Gray,
MSNBC Newsweek,
12 May 2025
Adjective
-
From Washington to Newark, recent aviation mishaps are prompting Congress to scrutinize safety protocols, revealing a pattern of miscommunication, unauthorized flights, and technical failures.—
Samantha-Jo Roth,
The Washington Examiner,
14 May 2025
-
These unsanctioned deployments can lead to data leakage, unauthorized access and compliance violations—problems that traditional security frameworks are not fully equipped to handle.—
Sameer Malhotra,
Forbes.com,
14 May 2025
Verb
-
Khan successfully smuggled information, photos, blueprints, and even components of the centrifuges to the Pakistan embassy in the Netherlanda before successfully escaping to lead the program.—
Davis Winkie,
USA Today,
8 May 2025
-
The woman allegedly smuggled ballots under her shirt and switched vehicles to avoid detection.—
Gabe Whisnant,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 May 2025
Noun
-
Before Kimmel, Obama, and Biden hit the stage to toss bons mots back and forth in a cozy Q. & A., there was a series of private receptions, called clutches, plus photo lines and free-flowing booze and hors d’œuvres.—
Jake Tapper,
New Yorker,
13 May 2025
-
Attendees regularly visited New York City, dined on chilled shellfish, drank free booze, collected TV-star autographs and met up with TV ad-sales executives and media buyers from their current agency of record.—
Brian Steinberg,
Variety,
11 May 2025
Verb
-
The company helps speed up product development and design conceptualization as internal teams collaborate more efficiently to visualize, iterate and test marketing campaigns, product assortments and merchandising assets like lookbooks and ecommerce content.—
Sharon Edelson,
Forbes.com,
27 Mar. 2025
-
The Russo brothers, meanwhile, are known for their past accomplishments with transforming movies into merchandising opportunities.—
Shirley Li,
The Atlantic,
19 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
For instance, this swivel lounge chair that blends classic style with modern comfort is a standout for any outdoor space, or this posh and practical side table with a textured finish is great for keeping drinks, food, or your favorite book within easy reach.—
Toni Sutton,
People.com,
17 May 2025
-
Other nostalgic items include a Dancing Shimmering Lights drink, which is a nod to Disneyland’s Videopolis area in the 1980s, and a Hook’s Galley Tuna Melt, which throws back to the park’s early era Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship and Restaurant.—
Eve Chen,
USA Today,
17 May 2025
Verb
-
Without protected public access, rivers can easily be privatized and fenced off.—
Cassidy Randall,
Forbes.com,
11 May 2025
-
By identifying key strategic roles and the actions through which leaders exercise the power inherent in their roles, as well as fencing AI... Post Generative AI is reshaping industries by automating tasks and augmenting human decision-making.—
Vincent Bruni-Bossio, Devan Mescall,
Harvard Business Review,
1 May 2025
Noun
-
Its moonshine is made of 100% corn.—
Megan Ulu-Lani Boyanton,
The Denver Post,
30 Dec. 2024
-
The free gift appears to be an Uzi, some ammo, a helmet, armour and a bottle of moonshine, which certainly isn’t a bad collection of loot for free.—
Mike Stubbs,
Forbes,
14 Oct. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Bootleg.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bootleg. Accessed 24 May. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share