Synonyms of smuggle

smuggle

verb

as in to sell

to move (people or goods) from one country to another secretly and illegally

They were arrested for smuggling drugs across the border.

Related Words

• sell
• distribute
• buy
• supply
• exchange
• negotiate
• barter
• black-market
• fence
• transact
• resell
• bootleg
• purchase
• take
• bargain
• merchandise
• swap
• horse-trade
• peddle
• monopolize
• auction
• wholesale
• vend
• market
• rebuy
• trade
• pick up
• undersell
• speculate
• engross
• retail
• invest
• deal
• corner
• fair-trade
• traffic
• day-trade

Dissimilar Words

• boycott
• black
• blackball

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of smuggle

An antiques dealer allegedly smuggled it into England during the Russian Revolution, at which point Elizabeth’s grandmother, Mary, purchased it. — Bailey Bujnosek, InStyle, 6 Sep. 2026

Trump had just flown back from a NATO summit in Ankara; he’d been smuggled out of Turkey via a catering truck and a decoy plane after Iranian threats on his life. — Antonia Hitchens, New Yorker, 4 Sep. 2026

With the goal of smuggling themselves to Turkey, the women are eventually found out for keeping a secret or two from the conspirators abetting their plan. — Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 4 Sep. 2026

In 2025, Ukraine smuggled over 100 drones into Russia inside cargo trucks to conduct strikes that damaged or destroyed roughly one-third of Russia’s active bomber fleet and caused approximately $7 billion in damages. — Seth G. Jones, Foreign Affairs, 3 Sep. 2026