as in runners
a person who imports or exports goods secretly and illegally
during Prohibition, smugglers of alcohol did a brisk business
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of smugglers
The tactic has become more popular with smugglers as police on the beaches try to thwart crossings by puncturing the rafts that groups of migrants have to inflate and carry to the water.
—
ABC News, 11 Apr. 2026
Cook County Jail in Chicago, which houses nearly 5,000 detainees, has reported increasing cases of smugglers soaking paper with synthetic drugs and sending them into the jail through mail or visitors.
—Melissa Rudy, FOXNews.com, 7 Apr. 2026
Based on the Substack post, the analyst's interviews with fishermen, smugglers and regional officials point to a system in which Iran is selectively allowing ships to pass.
—Yun Li, CNBC, 6 Apr. 2026
Two smugglers were later sentenced to decades in prison for that incident.
—CBS News, 24 Mar. 2026
The smugglers let him aboard, and the boy clambered around hatches that, if opened, would reveal dozens of felonies worth of illicit cargo.
—Jack Crosbie, Rolling Stone, 17 Mar. 2026
Agents were discovering players and then paying smugglers to transport them.
—Tyler Carmona, Miami Herald, 11 Mar. 2026
Inspectors roam elaborate tunnels used by tomb raiders and smugglers over different eras.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 6 Mar. 2026
Eastern Libya has become a key launch point for smugglers, undercutting years of EU efforts to curb departures and making Crete a new pressure point.
—Lefteris Pitarakis, Arkansas Online, 1 Mar. 2026
ABC News, 11 Apr. 2026
Cook County Jail in Chicago, which houses nearly 5,000 detainees, has reported increasing cases of smugglers soaking paper with synthetic drugs and sending them into the jail through mail or visitors.
—Melissa Rudy, FOXNews.com, 7 Apr. 2026
Based on the Substack post, the analyst's interviews with fishermen, smugglers and regional officials point to a system in which Iran is selectively allowing ships to pass.
—Yun Li, CNBC, 6 Apr. 2026
Two smugglers were later sentenced to decades in prison for that incident.
—CBS News, 24 Mar. 2026
The smugglers let him aboard, and the boy clambered around hatches that, if opened, would reveal dozens of felonies worth of illicit cargo.
—Jack Crosbie, Rolling Stone, 17 Mar. 2026
Agents were discovering players and then paying smugglers to transport them.
—Tyler Carmona, Miami Herald, 11 Mar. 2026
Inspectors roam elaborate tunnels used by tomb raiders and smugglers over different eras.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 6 Mar. 2026
Eastern Libya has become a key launch point for smugglers, undercutting years of EU efforts to curb departures and making Crete a new pressure point.
—Lefteris Pitarakis, Arkansas Online, 1 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for smugglers
Noun
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Their 204 plate appearances with runners in scoring position this season are the second-most in the majors.—
Meghan Montemurro,
Chicago Tribune,
15 Apr. 2026
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The Royals have only four extra-base hits with runners in scoring position (RISP).—
Sam McDowell,
Kansas City Star,
14 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Sam An, a pharmacist at a compounding pharmacy until 2021, told me that his workplace employed about twenty people—pharmacists, technicians, cashiers, couriers—in what resembled a chemistry laboratory.—
Dhruv Khullar,
New Yorker,
6 Apr. 2026
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In many systems, couriers can indicate when a parcel does not fit and request or trigger the opening of a larger locker.—
Lydia Patrick,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Even the underground tunnels bootleggers used to service the Green Mill during its speakeasy days are still in place.—
Meena Thiruvengadam,
Travel + Leisure,
8 Apr. 2026
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From embracing bootleggers to pulling its catalog from Spotify, Mackenzie explains how the band has tried to protect its creative core while the industry transforms around it.—
Charlie Warzel,
The Atlantic,
13 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Smugglers.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smugglers. Accessed 17 Apr. 2026.
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