1
: the upper part of a boot
2
3
: a football play in which the quarterback fakes a handoff, hides the ball against his hip, and rolls out compare draw entry 2 sense 8
bootleg
adjective
bootlegged; bootlegging; bootlegs
1
a
: to carry (alcoholic liquor) on one's person illegally
b
: to manufacture, sell, or transport for sale (alcoholic liquor) illegally
2
a
: to produce, reproduce, or distribute illicitly or without authorization
b
: smuggle
Examples of bootleg in a Sentence
Noun
She was arrested for selling bootlegs online.
getting caught with bootleg during Prohibition could have resulted in a jail sentence
Verb
He bootlegged the show and gave copies to several friends.
Recent Examples on the Web
Eric Andersson, People.com, 5 Nov. 2024
And subsequent research has suggested most of those who were poisoned had been drinking this bootleg alcohol for pleasure or escape, not protection from COVID-19.
—Bykai Kupferschmidt, science.org, 31 Oct. 2024
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 
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Noun
His dad, who worked at a bank and did security for clubs on weekends, ran a mentorship program for young men and showed them a bootleg copy of Boyz n the Hood, the 1992 John Singleton coming-of-age drama set in Los Angeles.
—Eric Andersson, People.com, 5 Nov. 2024
And subsequent research has suggested most of those who were poisoned had been drinking this bootleg alcohol for pleasure or escape, not protection from COVID-19.
—Bykai Kupferschmidt, science.org, 31 Oct. 2024
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
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Dictionary Entries Near bootleg
Cite this Entry
“Bootleg.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bootleg. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
bootleg
1 of 2 verb
boot·leg
-ˌleg 
bootlegged; bootlegging
1
: to make, transport, or sell alcoholic liquor illegally
2
a
: to produce or sell illegally or without permission
bootlegged recordings
b
bootlegger
noun
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