as in smugglers
a person who imports or exports goods secretly and illegally
a bootlegger of counterfeit electronics
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Recent Examples of bootleggers
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
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
Groucho Marx stars as the new president of Huxley College, who attempts to sign on two pro players to help beat rival Darwin University but ends up getting a pair of bootleggers instead.
—Brian Truitt, USA Today, 19 Sep. 2025
Kentucky's vast wilderness and mountainous regions served as hideaways for bootleggers, Rein said, while the government used paid informants to sniff them out.
—Maggie Menderski, Louisville Courier Journal, 16 Sep. 2025
Counterfeit merchandise has long been a problem for musicians, with suppliers and artists now contending with new school online retailers and old school bootleggers hawking wares outside of concerts.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 9 Sep. 2025
Sharon Stone co-stars as a mob boss with a few screws loose — her gang of bootleggers toggles with Hutch, threatening to ruin everyone’s R&R.
—Brent Lang, Variety, 15 Aug. 2025
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
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
Groucho Marx stars as the new president of Huxley College, who attempts to sign on two pro players to help beat rival Darwin University but ends up getting a pair of bootleggers instead.
—Brian Truitt, USA Today, 19 Sep. 2025
Kentucky's vast wilderness and mountainous regions served as hideaways for bootleggers, Rein said, while the government used paid informants to sniff them out.
—Maggie Menderski, Louisville Courier Journal, 16 Sep. 2025
Counterfeit merchandise has long been a problem for musicians, with suppliers and artists now contending with new school online retailers and old school bootleggers hawking wares outside of concerts.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 9 Sep. 2025
Sharon Stone co-stars as a mob boss with a few screws loose — her gang of bootleggers toggles with Hutch, threatening to ruin everyone’s R&R.
—Brent Lang, Variety, 15 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bootleggers
smugglers
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
Cite this Entry
“Bootleggers.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bootleggers. Accessed 30 Jan. 2026.
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