Synonyms of smuggling

smuggling 1 of 2

noun

as in poaching

Related Words

• poaching
• piracy
• kidnapping
• banditry
• rustling
• looting
• plundering
• abduction
• hijacking
• shoplifting
• pilfering
• pilferage
• black marketeering
• spoliation
• pillage
• rapine
• despoliation
• embezzlement
• carjacking
• stealing
• graft
• despoilment
• shanghaiing
• robbery
• burglary
• petit larceny
• embezzling
• misappropriation
• filching
• larceny
• petty larceny
• peculation
• thievery
• theft
• misapplication
• purloining
• housebreaking

smuggling

2 of 2

verb

present participle of smuggle

as in selling

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

They were arrested for smuggling drugs across the border.

Related Words

• selling
• distributing
• trafficking
• bootlegging
• supplying
• buying
• black-marketing
• exchanging
• bartering
• fencing
• bargaining
• transacting
• reselling
• purchasing
• negotiating
• swapping
• merchandising
• auctioning
• taking
• peddling
• marketing
• retailing
• wholesaling
• vending
• horse-trading
• rebuying
• underselling
• dealing
• trading
• monopolizing
• cornering
• fair-trading
• engrossing
• picking up
• speculating
• investing
• day-trading

Dissimilar Words

• boycotting
• blacking
• blackballing

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of smuggling

Noun

As a lifelong lover of reptiles, Eric Goode has known about the world of exotic reptile smuggling for decades. — Rory Doherty, Time, 6 Aug. 2026

Goode charts the exploitation and mistreatment of reptiles that are illegally sold and sometimes endangered through intricate, decades-old smuggling operations that have often, but not always, escaped detection at airports. — Randy Myers, Mercury News, 5 Aug. 2026

Investigators also determined the pilot had previously been involved in prior drug smuggling assignments. — Colson Thayer, PEOPLE, 4 Aug. 2026

In November 2024, assassins on a motorcycle in the Pacific port city of Manzanaillo shot dead a rear admiral who was said to have blown the whistle on navy entanglement in fuel-smuggling. — Foreign Correspondent, Los Angeles Times, 3 Aug. 2026

We're invested in reptile-smuggling documentary series Monsters of God, a new season of Conan O'Brien Must Go, movies from A24 and Lionsgate, and more. — K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 30 July 2026

Dianne Guadian, 33, and three other members of a smuggling organization brought unaccompanied children between the ages of 5 and 13 illegally into the United States from Juárez, Mexico. — Natassia Paloma, USA Today, 30 July 2026

Malicious actors can employ UUVs for a range of activities, including intelligence gathering, surveillance, smuggling, sabotage of critical infrastructure, and kinetic strikes, according to details. — Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 29 July 2026

The Foxtrot Network is involved in drug smuggling and violent crimes, according to the CPS, with assignments — which are often cross-border — advertised in group chats on platforms including Snapchat, Telegram and Signal. — Frank Andrews, CBS News, 29 July 2026

Verb

The Civil Guard said the operation with Ecuador’s National Police, which was overseen by Europol, targeted a ring that was financed by investors in Dubai and was smuggling drugs from South America into Spain in shipping containers. — ABC News, 5 Aug. 2026

On July 20, the Department of Justice announced that three Mexican men pleaded guilty to smuggling hundreds of people south from Canada into New York, then transferring them to the Midwest. — Trevor Hughes, USA Today, 29 July 2026

Probation officers and staff members have been charged with smuggling drugs into the facility in the last year. — James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 30 June 2026

Just days ago, officials said Indonesian authorities arrested two Russian nationals suspected of smuggling drugs into Bali after a high-speed car chase hit several pedestrians. — CBS News, 11 June 2026

Bootleggers smuggling various liquors like whiskey and gin found that the soft drink was particularly good at making these spirits easier to drink. — Andrea Romano, Travel + Leisure, 9 June 2026

From 2014 to 2018 alone, prosecutors allege, Ghomi is accused of smuggling more than 250 metric tons of networking equipment into Iran. — Sean Emery, Oc Register, 3 June 2026

In June 2025, the Justice Department charged three Chinese citizens who did research at U-M with smuggling biological hazards into the United States. — John Wisely, Freep.com, 3 June 2026

In 2023, a then-medical assistant working for Avid Healthcare Services was charged with smuggling meth into the jail. — Theresa Clift may 29, Sacbee.com, 29 May 2026