bootleg 1 of 3

noun

ˈbüt-ˌleg How to pronounce bootleg (audio)
Definition of bootlegnext
as in alcohol
illegally produced liquor getting caught with bootleg during Prohibition could have resulted in a jail sentence

Synonyms & Similar Words

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bootleg

2 of 3

adjective

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.

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

bootleg

3 of 3

verb

as in to smuggle

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Dissimilar Words

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 bootleg
Noun
There were no vendors hawking bootleg royal-wedding merch, no screaming lines of fans, not even that many impromptu sing-alongs (some were solicited by journalists looking for content). — Zach Schiffman, Curbed, 6 July 2026 Yolo County prosecutors have said he was connected to the bootleg fireworks that killed the girl. — Joe Rubin, Sacbee.com, 4 July 2026
Verb
After the songs were bootlegged for years, Coe began selling them on his website in 2000, though without his name on them. — Victoria Edel, PEOPLE, 30 Apr. 2026 With Dallas leading 27-21 and San Francisco driving late in the fourth quarter, Joe Montana and the 49ers lined up in a split formation, with Montana bootlegging out to the right upon taking the snap. — R.j. Coyle, Dallas Morning News, 25 Jan. 2026 See All Example Sentences for bootleg
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bootleg
  1. alcohol
  2. unauthorized
  3. smuggle
  4. booze
  5. merchandise
  6. drink
  7. fence
  8. moonshine
Noun
  • Rubbing Alcohol Head to the drug store for a bottle of 70% isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol to clean windows.
    — Mary Marlowe Leverette, The Spruce, 29 Aug. 2026
  • Food and drink Three meals a day—included in the rate, except for alcohol—are served in the main lodge, with every group being assigned the same table during their stay.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of alcohol
Adjective
  • Lancaster and Palmdale, the two incorporated cities of Antelope Valley about 15 miles west of Pearblossom, also attract unauthorized RVs.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Around 1,200 agents overall exchanged more than 70,000 messages and files through an unauthorized message board, coordinating ways to game a hacking evaluation.
    — Beatrice Nolan, Fortune, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of unauthorized
Verb
  • Simonian is believed to have smuggled Egyptian relics to institutions that include the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Louvre Abu Dhabi for a collective sum of $64 million.
    — News Desk, Artforum, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Five men pleaded guilty in federal court this month to smuggling millions of dollars worth of cocaine from the Dominican Republic to South Florida hidden in compartments on sport fishing boats.
    — David Goodhue August 26, Miami Herald, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of smuggle
Noun
  • As a result, our northern neighbor banned the sale of American booze (which is still ongoing in nearly all Canada’s provinces today).
    — Nicole Hoey, Robb Report, 24 Aug. 2026
  • No business bought more bottles of booze from state liquor stores than Bardenay’s downtown Boise location during fiscal year 2026, which ended June 30.
    — Michael Deeds, Idaho Statesman, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of booze
Verb
  • The merchandising giant Fanatics launched a 21+ prediction platform last year.
    — Marshall Cohen, CNN Money, 28 Aug. 2026
  • In fact, the team’s estimate for the film’s end budget, after merchandising costs and fees, is essentially the same as one first-season episode of a half-hour comedy on a streaming network.
    — Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of merchandise
Noun
  • So when Billie and Issa get an actual offer for drinks with two firefighters who come to the house, Billie puts on a goofy British accent à la Issa and turns them down, choosing a quiet night at home with her friend instead.
    — Ben Rosenstock, Vulture, 28 Aug. 2026
  • The company is known for its affordable drinks and ice cream, including its signature King Cone vanilla ice cream.
    — Jenny Lee, CNBC, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of drink
Verb
  • The organization highlighted careful monitoring, carried out with the farmers whose land the birds nested on, which allowed the nests to be fenced off from ground predators like foxes.
    — Moná Thomas, PEOPLE, 25 Aug. 2026
  • During the Renaissance, Italians refined fencing into its modern form, and soon fencing schools began popping up all over Europe.
    — Rebecca Leib, Los Angeles Times, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of fence
Noun
  • The Carnaval de Guaranda, for instance, takes inspiration from a rowdy annual fiesta held in the Bolivar Province and is made with vodka, hops, figs, white truffle, turmeric, and a local moonshine called pájaro azul.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 July 2026
  • Barthel laments that anti-cannabis laws encouraged growers to develop highly potent strains, just as Prohibition in the 1920s put potentially lethal moonshine into circulation.
    — Martha Ross, Mercury News, 6 July 2026
Definition of moonshine

Browse Nearby Words

booting (up)
bootleg
bootlegged
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Cite this Entry

“Bootleg.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bootleg. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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