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
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
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
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The family travelled north from Central America for weeks, crossing rivers by night and riding concealed in smugglers’ trucks.—
Jon Lee Anderson,
New Yorker,
29 Sep. 2025
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Washington should therefore seek reinvigorated technical dialogues on promoting high standards for nuclear security and making sure that nuclear materials do not fall into the hands of smugglers or terrorists.—
MARIANO-FLORENTINO CUÉLLAR,
Foreign Affairs,
25 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Bootleggers.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bootleggers. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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