Synonyms of bootleggers

bootleggers

noun

plural of bootlegger

as in smugglers

a person who imports or exports goods secretly and illegally

a bootlegger of counterfeit electronics

Synonyms & Similar Words

• smugglers
• runners
• couriers
• coyotes
• mules
• contrabandists
• gunrunners

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of bootleggers

Gosha, a local station master, has a side-hustle of his own, turning a blind eye while bootleggers siphon diesel from the tankers that sit idly on the train tracks. — Damon Wise, Deadline, 11 July 2026

Weeth said bootleggers purchase fireworks from manufacturers in China and who, for a fee, package the fireworks in colorful branding, which are more difficult to track and often lack proper warnings. — Joe Rubin, Sacbee.com, 4 July 2026

Working primarily in Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma), Reeves tracked down murderers, thieves, bootleggers and other outlaws across a vast and often dangerous frontier. — Samantha Stutsman, PEOPLE, 6 June 2026

Stock car racing's origins trace back to the Prohibition era when bootleggers raced modified cars. — Keith Laing, USA Today, 23 May 2026

Even the underground tunnels bootleggers used to service the Green Mill during its speakeasy days are still in place. — Meena Thiruvengadam, Travel + Leisure, 8 Apr. 2026

From embracing bootleggers to pulling its catalog from Spotify, Mackenzie explains how the band has tried to protect its creative core while the industry transforms around it. — Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 13 Feb. 2026

Key lime pie has been enjoyed by locals in Key West for over 100 years, which means bootleggers and Ernest Hemingway both (most likely) indulged in the sweet-tart treat. — Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 28 Dec. 2025

No one knows why; no one has a telephone in the rural Blue Ridge Mountains, so John Boy sets out into a winter storm to find his daddy, having various escapades with the quirky residents of their backwoods community—a Black preacher, a pair of old-lady bootleggers, a turkey thief—along the way. — Literary Hub, 22 Dec. 2025