bootlegger
noun
boot·leg·ger
ˈbüt-ˌle-gər 
-ˌlā-
plural bootleggers
: one who bootlegs something: such as
a
: a person who makes or sells alcoholic liquor illegally
… in sleepy little St-Hilaire, once a Prohibition boom town, from which bootleggers smuggled truckloads of whisky into the U.S. …—
Will Ferguson
Will FergusonMost of us associate the pocket flask with the Roaring Twenties era of the bootlegger and the speakeasy …—Linda Rosenkrantz
Linda Rosenkrantz
b
: a person who produces, reproduces, or distributes something (such as a recording) illicitly or without authorization
As part of his job, Schoenfeld is charged with ferreting out record bootleggers and protecting the copyright interests of record labels.—Holly Gleason
Holly Gleason… the conversation ran from how the different companies project returns on direct mail to efforts to crack down on software bootleggers.—Leslie Brokaw
Leslie BrokawExamples of bootlegger in a Sentence
a bootlegger of counterfeit electronics
Recent Examples on the Web
Groucho Marx stars as the new president of Huxley College, who attempts to sign on two pro players to help beat rival Darwin University but ends up getting a pair of bootleggers instead.
—Brian Truitt, USA Today, 19 Sep. 2025
Kentucky's vast wilderness and mountainous regions served as hideaways for bootleggers, Rein said, while the government used paid informants to sniff them out.
—Maggie Menderski, Louisville Courier Journal, 16 Sep. 2025
The band’s ninth studio album has been restored, remastered and expanded with an additional 25 bonus tracks, spanning alternate studio takes and live recordings by the famed bootlegger Mike Millard at Pink Floyd’s Los Angeles Sports Arena concert on April 26, 1975.
—Sophie Williams, Billboard, 12 Sep. 2025
Counterfeit merchandise has long been a problem for musicians, with suppliers and artists now contending with new school online retailers and old school bootleggers hawking wares outside of concerts.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 9 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bootlegger
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Brian Truitt, USA Today, 19 Sep. 2025
Kentucky's vast wilderness and mountainous regions served as hideaways for bootleggers, Rein said, while the government used paid informants to sniff them out.
—Maggie Menderski, Louisville Courier Journal, 16 Sep. 2025
The band’s ninth studio album has been restored, remastered and expanded with an additional 25 bonus tracks, spanning alternate studio takes and live recordings by the famed bootlegger Mike Millard at Pink Floyd’s Los Angeles Sports Arena concert on April 26, 1975.
—Sophie Williams, Billboard, 12 Sep. 2025
Counterfeit merchandise has long been a problem for musicians, with suppliers and artists now contending with new school online retailers and old school bootleggers hawking wares outside of concerts.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 9 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bootlegger
Cite this Entry
“Bootlegger.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bootlegger. Accessed 21 Sep. 2025.
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