smuggled 1 of 2

smuggled

2 of 2

verb

past tense of smuggle

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
Adjective
But Rankin does mention a thuggish figure named Kodama Yoshio, who worked for Japanese spy agencies in China while trading in narcotics and smuggled goods. — Ian Buruma, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026 The smuggled animals, which were imported from both Hong Kong and Mexico without permits, included Mexican beaded lizards, Mexican box turtles and Yucatan box turtles and baby crocodiles, prosecutors said. — Dean Fioresi, CBS News, 31 May 2026 Lang calls Atterton, who’s in his prison cell with a smuggled phone, to tell him the job is done and that both Bailey-Brown and Sam have been terminated. — Barry Levitt, Time, 4 Mar. 2026 Writs of assistance were open‑ended search warrants granted to British customs officers to search for smuggled goods; they were not limited by time, person, or location, and no probable cause was required. — Amanda Cats-Baril, Twin Cities, 4 Mar. 2026 The smuggled fungus, Fusarium graminearum, can cause billions in crop losses and is harmful to humans and livestock. — Tresa Baldas, Freep.com, 13 Nov. 2025 Laboratory tests of smuggled samples taken from late Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny show that he was poisoned when he was imprisoned in a Siberian penal colony, his widow Yulia Navalnaya has said. — Anna Chernova, CNN Money, 17 Sep. 2025 Inevitably, a few students were surreptitiously checking smuggled screens that day. — Christopher Bonanos, Curbed, 5 Sep. 2025
Verb
Now, however, more than half of its annual production is smuggled out by traders, generals, and militia leaders, according to United Nations experts and other analysts. — Mat Nashed, Christian Science Monitor, 28 Oct. 2026 The couple was involved in transactions that saw American black bear gallbladders and cougar bones being smuggled into Vietnam, as well as black and white rhinoceros horns, lion teeth and a tiger pelt being illegally imported to Oregon. — Tracy Brown, Los Angeles Times, 24 Oct. 2026 Amnesty has reported abuses against miners in areas taken over by M23 and alleged that gold and coltan are smuggled into Rwanda. — Nimi Princewill, CNN Money, 22 Oct. 2026 But at sea, Spanish guarda costas (armed customs officials) pounced on British ships, allegedly searching for goods being smuggled in for sale. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 20 Oct. 2026 Some were then smuggled into Israel, but many stayed in Lebanon. — ABC News, 18 Oct. 2026 It’s based on secret recordings — heard here for the first time — made by Diana, Princess of Wales in 1991, and smuggled out of her home in Kensington Palace. — Emily Longeretta, Variety, 9 Oct. 2026 In 2025, Ukraine smuggled over 100 small drones into Russia in commercial cargo trucks and used them to strike strategic air bases thousands of miles from the border. — Todd J. Stein, Fortune, 7 Oct. 2026 A little less than 18 months ago, Ukraine carried out a sneak drone attack in which forces smuggled them into Russian territory and waited until the truck that was unknowingly carrying them got close to Russian bases. — Mike Brest, The Washington Examiner, 5 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for smuggled
Adjective
  • Officers searched the restroom and found a package of contraband drugs, including K2, high-potency THC wax and suboxone strips.
    — DeJanay Booth-Singleton, CBS News, 8 Oct. 2026
  • His current release date is scheduled for March 2028, a recent change after he was reportedly caught using a contraband cell phone to scroll on Instagram.
    — Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 7 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • Ganga is going through a divorce that requires the home to be sold.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 26 Oct. 2026
  • For resale platforms, like Vestiaire Collective, that are founded on the principles of buyer and seller trust, the challenge isn’t only to determine whether a luxury good is genuine, but whether it can legally be sold.
    — Sophie Lou Wilson, Vogue, 26 Oct. 2026
Adjective
  • The $30-a-month cutoff may be tied to concerns that plans with no or low monthly premiums are easier for bad agents to target for unauthorized enrollments because the policyholder may never get a bill.
    — Julie Appleby, Miami Herald, 28 Oct. 2026
  • Those legitimate features can create opportunities for criminals who gain unauthorized access to an account.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 28 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • The combination of large-scale pre-training, distributed post-training and feedback-driven learning after deployment forms the basis of GO-3 Preview.
    — Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 30 Oct. 2026
  • If accepted, student aid is distributed first to schools to cover tuition and fees, but any leftover money is deposited into bank accounts controlled by the fraudsters.
    — Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 30 Oct. 2026
Adjective
  • New York state sued Kalshi and Polymarket this year, claiming that the companies each ran unlicensed sports gambling businesses.
    — Mike Vorkunov, New York Times, 26 Oct. 2026
  • Professional psychologists have cautioned the public against using unlicensed AI chatbots as therapists.
    — Andrew R. Chow, Time, 22 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • Drone warfare has become the deadliest threat to civilians in Sudan's conflict and both the military and the RSF are being supplied with drones by a number of countries in the Middle East and beyond, experts previously said.
    — YASSIR ABDALLA, Arkansas Online, 29 Oct. 2026
  • Its two canvas tents sit beside the Mohaka River, with hot showers and food supplied by the kitchen.
    — Chloe Sachdev, Condé Nast Traveler, 29 Oct. 2026
Adjective
  • Several employee open cup containers with unapproved screw-top lids were on the shelf, prep table and food prep storage.
    — Sacbee.com, Sacbee.com, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Her filing claimed that Peters also gave her an unapproved drug that may have included some kind of methamphetamine.
    — Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 22 Oct. 2026
Adjective
  • The four teens shot in the middle of the night at a south Charlotte industrial park were attending an unsanctioned car meetup, according to Charlotte-Mecklenburg police.
    — Mark Price, Charlotte Observer, 28 Oct. 2026
  • Set early during the New Republic era, the game introduces the Galactic League, an unsanctioned racing circuit assembled by Darius Pax.
    — Tanya Fedak, Variety, 6 Oct. 2026

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Smuggled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smuggled. Accessed 31 Oct. 2026.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster