as in alcohol
illegally produced liquor
getting caught with bootleg during Prohibition could have resulted in a jail sentence
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in unauthorized
made or sold illegally
During the Prohibition era, many people made their own bootleg whiskey. He was arrested for selling bootleg copies of the album.
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to smuggle
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of bootleg
Chris Stanton, Vulture, 17 Mar. 2025
After the Spider-Man movie's release, Comic Book Movies noted that bootlegs were everywhere online.
—Ashley Belanger, Ars Technica, 7 Mar. 2025
Susan Saulny, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Oct. 2024
Land of the Free, Home of the Bootleggers When technology made music mobile, the American South changed from one type of bootlegging industry to another: copying and selling records.
—JSTOR Daily, 24 June 2024
See All Example Sentences for bootleg
Noun
But Chrome Dreams also took on a life of its own, circulating widely as a bootleg for decades before eventually getting a proper release in 2023.
—Chris Stanton, Vulture, 17 Mar. 2025
After the Spider-Man movie's release, Comic Book Movies noted that bootlegs were everywhere online.
—Ashley Belanger, Ars Technica, 7 Mar. 2025
Verb
This was the era of Prohibition, dominated by bootlegging gangsters—Chicago alone was said to be home to 1,300 gangs—and some police departments adopted increasingly brutal tactics to wring the truth out of suspects: beating and burning detainees with cigarettes, or depriving them of sleep.
—Susan Saulny, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Oct. 2024
Land of the Free, Home of the Bootleggers When technology made music mobile, the American South changed from one type of bootlegging industry to another: copying and selling records.
—JSTOR Daily, 24 June 2024
See All Example Sentences for bootleg
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bootleg
Noun
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The statement added that he was specifically charged with disorderly conduct under the influence of alcohol in public and possession of cocaine.—
Tommy McArdle,
People.com,
17 Apr. 2025
-
The individuals who received acute care due to cannabis use retained an elevated risk of dementia compared to the total number of people who received care, excluding cases due to alcohol use.—
Angelica Stabile,
FOXNews.com,
16 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Those unauthorized enrollments or changes took off in late 2023 and continued through last year, drawing more than 274,000 complaints in the first eight months of 2024 to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, mostly about rogue agents or call centers.—
Julie Appleby,
CBS News,
8 Apr. 2025
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Guards are to do room checks for unauthorized guests and to handle any issues, like trespassing complaints.—
Gloria Casas,
Chicago Tribune,
8 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Released in 2023, Season 1 of The Last of Us found Joel (Pascal) smuggling an immune teen, Ellie (Ramsey), out of the quarantine zone and across a post-apocalyptic America.—
Tim Lammers,
Forbes.com,
14 Apr. 2025
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Multiple victims were also minors, and at least two were smuggled into the U.S. unaccompanied by a relative or legal guardian, according to the Justice Department.—
Stephen Underwood,
Hartford Courant,
12 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Former colleagues Ted and Rick met up at a restaurant to drink their sorrows away — Rick, especially, hit the booze hard — and to reminisce about their client/friend.—
Vlada Gelman,
TVLine,
6 Apr. 2025
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Driving the booze: Rucklehaus Midwest Amaro joins the two gins, Big Fuss (dry and savory) and Big Heart (floral), already being made at their State Fairgrounds home.—
Arika Herron,
Axios,
19 Mar. 2025
Verb
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The company helps speed up product development and design conceptualization as internal teams collaborate more efficiently to visualize, iterate and test marketing campaigns, product assortments and merchandising assets like lookbooks and ecommerce content.—
Sharon Edelson,
Forbes.com,
27 Mar. 2025
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The Russo brothers, meanwhile, are known for their past accomplishments with transforming movies into merchandising opportunities.—
Shirley Li,
The Atlantic,
19 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
During Brazil’s own Lollapalooza music festival last month, for example, fashion-forward attendees were seen with minimalist, lightweight phone straps that kept devices at hip level and hands free to grasp a drink of choice.—
Stacia Datskovska,
Footwear News,
10 Apr. 2025
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There are 11 pockets, including five cooler beverage pockets to keep your drinks cold and a customizable ball pocket that’ll keep all your golf balls safe.—
Christopher Murray,
FOXNews.com,
9 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
Long before its demolition, the city had fenced off part of the nearby sidewalk because debris had fallen off the tower and landed near people walking their dogs.—
Robert A. Cronkleton,
Kansas City Star,
17 Apr. 2025
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Not long after, states began requiring all private swimming pools to be fenced, which led deaths to fall and has since been adopted nationwide.—
Charlie Campbell,
Time,
3 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Its moonshine is made of 100% corn.—
Megan Ulu-Lani Boyanton,
The Denver Post,
30 Dec. 2024
-
The free gift appears to be an Uzi, some ammo, a helmet, armour and a bottle of moonshine, which certainly isn’t a bad collection of loot for free.—
Mike Stubbs,
Forbes,
14 Oct. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Bootleg.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bootleg. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.
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