as in sold
to move (people or goods) from one country to another secretly and illegally
They were arrested for smuggling drugs across the border.
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
as in contraband
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
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 smuggled
Christopher Bonanos, Curbed, 5 Sep. 2025
Real-Time News Team, Miami Herald, 12 Sep. 2025
Instead of freely taking up legal work in Thailand, Sara was smuggled at gunpoint into a scammers’ compound in Myanmar.
—Christine Ro, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
In June, Ukrainian forces destroyed or damaged dozens of Russian aircraft using small drones that were smuggled to the vicinity of Russian military airfields in trucks.
—Svitlana Vlasova, CNN Money, 29 Aug. 2025
Wen smuggled three shipping containers of guns and ammunition to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) before he was caught, prosecutors said.
—Michael Loria, USA Today, 20 Aug. 2025
In July, the Sheriff's Office started using X-ray machines to stop drugs from being smuggled into the jails.
—Rey Covarrubias Jr, AZCentral.com, 18 Aug. 2025
In that operation, Kyiv for months smuggled hundreds of small drones deep inside Russia for a coordinated strike that destroyed upward of 40 Russian warplanes on five airbases across the country.
—Ellen Mitchell, The Hill, 15 Aug. 2025
These interdictions included hundreds of thousands of pounds of drugs as well as humans attempting to be smuggled into the United States.
—Mike Garcia, Oc Register, 11 Aug. 2025
Consider creating a well of ketchup to dip your hash browns into (rather than drizzling the ketchup overtop them), and legend has it some folks have smuggled their own toppings.
—Catherine Jessee, Southern Living, 10 Aug. 2025
Verb
Inevitably, a few students were surreptitiously checking smuggled screens that day.
—Christopher Bonanos, Curbed, 5 Sep. 2025
Adjective
The horns, smuggled from Angola, were seized, and the Vietnamese national involved was arrested.
—Real-Time News Team, Miami Herald, 12 Sep. 2025
Instead of freely taking up legal work in Thailand, Sara was smuggled at gunpoint into a scammers’ compound in Myanmar.
—Christine Ro, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
In June, Ukrainian forces destroyed or damaged dozens of Russian aircraft using small drones that were smuggled to the vicinity of Russian military airfields in trucks.
—Svitlana Vlasova, CNN Money, 29 Aug. 2025
Wen smuggled three shipping containers of guns and ammunition to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) before he was caught, prosecutors said.
—Michael Loria, USA Today, 20 Aug. 2025
In July, the Sheriff's Office started using X-ray machines to stop drugs from being smuggled into the jails.
—Rey Covarrubias Jr, AZCentral.com, 18 Aug. 2025
In that operation, Kyiv for months smuggled hundreds of small drones deep inside Russia for a coordinated strike that destroyed upward of 40 Russian warplanes on five airbases across the country.
—Ellen Mitchell, The Hill, 15 Aug. 2025
These interdictions included hundreds of thousands of pounds of drugs as well as humans attempting to be smuggled into the United States.
—Mike Garcia, Oc Register, 11 Aug. 2025
Consider creating a well of ketchup to dip your hash browns into (rather than drizzling the ketchup overtop them), and legend has it some folks have smuggled their own toppings.
—Catherine Jessee, Southern Living, 10 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for smuggled
Verb
-
One of her responsibilities was managing the relationship with book distributors and working closely with the sales and distribution team that sold books to bookstores.—
Elaine Pofeldt,
Forbes.com,
13 Sep. 2025
-
That’s the largest recent jackpot in the state since June, when an unnamed winner scored a $10 million win from a scratcher bought in Barley Bin Liquor in Whittier, and Steven Muhlestein won a $10 million Super Bonus in May from a scratcher sold at Vintage Wine Shoppe & Liquor in Concord.—
Kyle Martin,
Mercury News,
13 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
At a talk at the Arkansas Attorney General’s office in Little Rock, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said that reclassifying contraband cellphones as unauthorized could sidestep the rule.—
Will McCurdy,
PC Magazine,
6 Sep. 2025
-
Commissioners also said Erik Menendez's use of contraband cellphones was a factor in the denial.—
Jeanine Santucci,
USA Today,
24 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Most of the ketamine distributed in the United States is done so illegally, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.—
Rachel Hale,
USA Today,
10 Sep. 2025
-
In notes distributed to clients Monday morning, firms such as BofA Securities and Canaccord Genuity encouraged investors to view the sell-off as a buying opportunity rather than confirmation of a deep and lasting threat to Kenvue’s business.—
Sheryl Estrada,
Fortune,
9 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
The elder Hendrix sued Branton in 1993, claiming that the business had been mismanaged and that the attorney conducted unauthorized transactions.—
Mike Alleyne Ph.D,
Forbes.com,
13 Sep. 2025
-
This rampant, unauthorized AI use degrades the educational experience of individual students who overly rely on the technology and those who wish to avoid using it.—
Tyler Austin Harper,
The Atlantic,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Rheinmetall sold 35mm ammunition for Ukraine’s Gepards at around $600 a round, and the 300,000 rounds supplied are running low.—
David Hambling,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
-
Another woman supplied photos of her breasts, which are redacted, as well as a bra.—
Miles Klee,
Rolling Stone,
9 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
The case against an unlicensed DoorDash delivery driver charged in connection with a deadly crash that killed two people riding a ATV can proceed to trial, a Milwaukee court commissioner ruled.—
Chris Ramirez,
jsonline.com,
9 Sep. 2025
-
And the Department of Justice might conduct surveillance of unlicensed companies that may be involved in trafficking.—
Christine Ro,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
But the search continues, and despite all those pitfalls, hospitals and physicians are using unapproved tests that are available to screen patients, often at exorbitant costs.—
Cory Franklin,
Chicago Tribune,
1 Sep. 2025
-
Health inspectors found unapproved rodent bait blocks and household spray available for use throughout the kitchen and near the mop sink.—
Sacbee.com,
Sacbee.com,
29 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
If that data moves through unsanctioned channels or lands in public models, it’s exposed.—
Mark Doble,
Forbes.com,
9 Sep. 2025
-
His last match was a brutal, unsanctioned Lights Out Steel Cage match at the AEW Forbidden Door pay-per-view on August 24.—
Andrew Ravens,
MSNBC Newsweek,
9 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Smuggled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smuggled. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share