Definition of bootleggernext
as in smuggler
a person who imports or exports goods secretly and illegally a bootlegger of counterfeit electronics

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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 bootlegger The concert recording, captured on April 26, 1975 — nearly half a year before the album was released — at the Los Angeles Sports Arena by an ingenious bootlegger, sounds about as good as a stereo tape capturing live quadrophonic sound could. Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 11 Dec. 2025 The Tunnels story is that Chinese immigrants built a network of tunnels under the city because they were forced to live underground; the tunnels were then used by gangsters and bootleggers, including Al Capone. JSTOR Daily, 20 Oct. 2025 Prohibition also took hold in Indiana during the decade, though bootleggers did pop up across the state. Joe Mutascio, IndyStar, 17 Oct. 2025 Hicks McTaggart, a reluctant private eye riding the industry’s transition from strikebreaking (labor suppression was once a major part of the private-detective business) to investigating cheating spouses, gets swept up in a case concerning the bombing of a bootlegger’s hooch wagon. Jack Denton, Vulture, 6 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for bootlegger
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bootlegger
smuggler
Noun
  • So can those who set prices; deal with Mexican cartel suppliers; launder money; establish drug houses; and pay smugglers, intermediaries and others.
    Kevin Krause, Dallas Morning News, 6 Jan. 2026
  • Yes, arrest the murderers, drug lords and gang members, thieves and smugglers.
    Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 2 Jan. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Bootlegger.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bootlegger. Accessed 20 Jan. 2026.

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