as in alcohols
illegally produced liquor
getting caught with bootleg during Prohibition could have resulted in a jail sentence
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Recent Examples of bootlegs
Chris Willman, Variety, 4 Feb. 2026
Her source material is a pair of cassette tapes recorded by Dueñez in the ’90s, two of a series of bootlegs that the sonidero and his wife sold at the flea market along the Puente del Papa, a bridge connecting Monterrey’s prosperous city center with its mountainside slums.
—Philip Sherburne, Pitchfork, 7 Jan. 2026
But for a few months in 1975, all four members worked in unison to create a masterpiece and perform concerts that became legendary, thanks to bootlegs like the one here.
—Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 11 Dec. 2025
Mariota looked more comfortable than either Patrick Mahomes or Dak Prescott ever looked against VJ's defense, thanks to either getting the ball out super quick -- screens, bootlegs — or by just taking off with the rock and taking his chances.
—Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 1 Dec. 2025
In the six years since its debut, the show has become an internet sensation, with viewers online embracing the musical's campy humor, jaw-dropping stage illusions and sing-along score, with bootlegs of the production going viral on TikTok and YouTube.
—Dave Quinn, PEOPLE, 5 Nov. 2025
And that means passing up scramble lanes on bootlegs and dirting the ball in the face of free rushers.
—Nate Atkins, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2025
Now, people who don’t have a technical understanding, there might be bootlegs, but that is scratchy stuff with not very good sound.
—Mike Fleming Jr, Deadline, 5 Sep. 2025
Noun
While bootlegs have been out there for decades, the Petty estate is finally making the concert officially available, with audio restoration done by Ryan Ulyate.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 4 Feb. 2026
Her source material is a pair of cassette tapes recorded by Dueñez in the ’90s, two of a series of bootlegs that the sonidero and his wife sold at the flea market along the Puente del Papa, a bridge connecting Monterrey’s prosperous city center with its mountainside slums.
—Philip Sherburne, Pitchfork, 7 Jan. 2026
But for a few months in 1975, all four members worked in unison to create a masterpiece and perform concerts that became legendary, thanks to bootlegs like the one here.
—Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 11 Dec. 2025
Mariota looked more comfortable than either Patrick Mahomes or Dak Prescott ever looked against VJ's defense, thanks to either getting the ball out super quick -- screens, bootlegs — or by just taking off with the rock and taking his chances.
—Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 1 Dec. 2025
In the six years since its debut, the show has become an internet sensation, with viewers online embracing the musical's campy humor, jaw-dropping stage illusions and sing-along score, with bootlegs of the production going viral on TikTok and YouTube.
—Dave Quinn, PEOPLE, 5 Nov. 2025
And that means passing up scramble lanes on bootlegs and dirting the ball in the face of free rushers.
—Nate Atkins, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2025
Now, people who don’t have a technical understanding, there might be bootlegs, but that is scratchy stuff with not very good sound.
—Mike Fleming Jr, Deadline, 5 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bootlegs
Noun
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Sugar alcohols contain fewer calories and are slowly digested, helping prevent sharp spikes in blood sugar.—
Stephanie Brown,
Verywell Health,
6 Feb. 2026
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Fizzy drinks, items sweetened with sugar alcohols, and booze can all pump up gas production too.—
Julia Ries Wexler,
SELF,
6 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Dorian Gray, the Victorian era’s proto-Clavicular, literally exchanges his soul for eternal youth and beauty—a move that the looksmaxxing community would seem to endorse wholeheartedly.—
Thomas Chatterton Williams,
The Atlantic,
19 Jan. 2026
-
The group exchanges little looks.—
Dalton Ross,
Entertainment Weekly,
16 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Vendors lined the park Saturday, selling everything from jewelry and toys to Korean corn dogs and boba drinks.—
Nicole Buss,
Sacbee.com,
15 Feb. 2026
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For her part, Quant doesn’t want treated effluent flowing into the pond where her livestock drinks and her family and youngsters from her church fish.—
Matthew Adams,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
15 Feb. 2026
Verb
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In this Gothic fantasy debut, Leena Al-Sayer bargains her ability to see the dead in order to pay for the expensive medicine her brother Rami needs to live.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
2 Feb. 2026
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Those restraints are lawful because the NFL collectively bargains them with the NFL players association.—
Michael McCann,
Sportico.com,
15 Dec. 2025
Verb
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Not everyone smuggles them into print in the form of an imaginary friend.—
Ian Parker,
New Yorker,
22 Dec. 2025
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According to Reforma, Rocha, a Mexican businessman who also serves as a consul of Guatemala in Mexico, is considered by FRG to be an alleged leader of a criminal organization that smuggles fuel in boats through the Usumacinta River and then in trucks to Querétaro, Mexico.—
Luke Chinman,
PEOPLE,
26 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Stock your pantry with their selection of fruits confits, wines, juices, and spreads, and one of each pastry.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
9 Feb. 2026
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If using fresh, the clams should start to steam open, give up their juices, and further flavor the broth.—
Holly Riordan,
Better Homes & Gardens,
9 Feb. 2026
Noun
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It was kept in interconnected wooden vats that were periodically filled with rums of various origins, but never completely emptied, making it effectively an enormous and complex solera rum.—
Tony Sachs,
Forbes.com,
22 Jan. 2026
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In its stead, Shelter Distillery will move into the vacant space sometime in early-to-mid 2026, offering guests its own creations, including whiskey, bourbon and agave spirits, as well as vodka, liqueurs, rums, limoncello and even a take on absinthe.—
Brock Keeling,
Oc Register,
30 Dec. 2025
Verb
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Coined by nail artist Betina Goldstein, the micro-French style swaps a large swath of white for a barely-there flash of paint across the free edge of the nail.—
Laura Solla,
Vogue,
9 Feb. 2026
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Most soccer-forward of the footwear assortment is their Samba, which swaps out the Three Stripes motif for Bape’s star logo.—
Ian Servantes,
Footwear News,
3 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bootlegs.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bootlegs. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.
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