smuggler

as in runner
a person who imports or exports goods secretly and illegally during Prohibition, smugglers of alcohol did a brisk business

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

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 smuggler But even the remote nation that cited Buddhist teachings as a reason for its tobacco ban has not been immune to outside influence and axed the majority of its ban in 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic to stop smugglers which were spreading the disease. Katharina Buchholz, Forbes.com, 27 June 2025 Humanitarian groups have expressed concern that more migrants aided by smugglers will attempt even riskier routes to evade being apprehended by the Border Patrol. Nicol Leon, AZCentral.com, 12 July 2025 Fans are instead turning to unusual sources - including buying from smugglers. Fred He, CNN Money, 30 May 2025 Smuggling recipe substitutions News reports and analysis show that smugglers chose a range of fruits and vegetables to move drugs. Michael Loria, USA Today, 2 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for smuggler
Recent Examples of Synonyms for smuggler
Noun
  • The Ballon d’Or runner up is under fire for a poor 2024/2025 season which Los Blancos finished without major silverware, plus his sub-par performances at the Club World Cup this summer where Paris Saint-Germain knocked them out via a 4-0 thrashing administered in the semifinals.
    Tom Sanderson, Forbes.com, 22 July 2025
  • River runners are not to stop at Boat Beach but may continue to Pipe Creek Beach for exchanges.
    Rey Covarrubias Jr, AZCentral.com, 22 July 2025
Noun
  • Baek uses some local gangsters, posing as regular mail couriers, to distribute the guns.
    Kayti Burt, Time, 25 July 2025
  • The wide hallways—designed to accommodate couriers ferrying confidential MI5 and MI6 correspondence—have too been preserved.
    Vogue, Vogue, 23 July 2025
Noun
  • Her mother’s parents, the Pattis (her first name is her mother’s maiden name), were immigrant bootleggers; their sewing room had removable floorboards to hide whiskey.
    Michael Schulman, New Yorker, 26 May 2025
  • However, when a bootlegger is seen as simply trying to ride others’ success in a self-serving manner, community support quickly wanes, and job opportunities for the bootlegger can even dry out.
    London School of Economics, Forbes.com, 13 May 2025
Noun
  • Fill your closet with slip-on sneakers, sleek mules, trendy ballet flats, and more styles for all ]occasions.
    Clara McMahon, People.com, 30 July 2025
  • The unions’ job — to do its best to stop the mule from chucking everything up in the air — thus becomes pretty tricky.
    Nick Miller, New York Times, 29 July 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Smuggler.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smuggler. Accessed 5 Aug. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on smuggler

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!