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

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

While Iranian businesses have been cut off from legal finance and trade, the IRGC has had greater black-market opportunities- smuggling goods such as alcohol, narcotics, weapons and tobacco. — Natasha Lindstaedt, Forbes.com, 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

Trump launched the first round after alleging Canada should do more to stop fentanyl smuggling. — Will Weissert, Fortune, 27 July 2026

The area is also often used for smuggling of wildlife and small arms, the report says. — ABC News, 21 July 2026

But after the town’s economy cratered with the closure of the local sardine cannery, Rangel, anxious to provide for the couple’s 1-year-old daughter, agreed to take a smuggling job. — Kate Linthicum, Los Angeles Times, 20 July 2026

Verb

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

Several recent cases linked to smuggling Nvidia’s AI chips into China to circumvent export controls show the appetite for its technology. — ABC News, 29 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