Advertisement

View synonyms for

bootleg

[ boot-leg ]

noun

  1. alcoholic liquor unlawfully made, sold, or transported, without registration or payment of taxes.
  2. the part of a boot that covers the leg.
  3. something, as a recording, made, reproduced, or sold illegally or without authorization:

    a flurry of bootlegs to cash in on the rock star's death.



verb (used with object)

bootlegged, bootlegging.
  1. to deal in (liquor or other goods) unlawfully.

verb (used without object)

bootlegged, bootlegging.
  1. to make, transport, or sell something, especially liquor, illegally or without registration or payment of taxes.

adjective

  1. made, sold, or transported unlawfully.
  2. illegal or clandestine.
  3. of or relating to bootlegging.

bootleg

/ ˈːˌɛɡ /

verb

  1. to make, carry, or sell (illicit goods, esp alcohol)
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. something made or sold illicitly, such as alcohol during Prohibition in the US
  2. an illegally made copy of a CD, tape, etc
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

adjective

  1. produced, distributed, or sold illicitly

    bootleg whisky

    bootleg tapes

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Discover More

Derived Forms

  • ˈǴdzˌ𲵲, noun
Discover More

Other Word Forms

  • Ǵdz·· noun
Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of bootleg1

An Americanism first recorded in 1625–35; boot 1 + leg; secondary senses arose from practice of hiding a liquor bottle in the leg of one's boot
Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of bootleg1

C17: see boot 1, leg ; from the practice of smugglers of carrying bottles of liquor concealed in their boots
Discover More

Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Films that were once surreptitiously passed around via bootleg videos are getting their first theatrical run in the country.

From

Their drinks are thought to have contained methanol - a deadly substance often found in bootleg alcohol.

From

But the bootleg “Bulls” shirt reads “Balls” instead.

From

When Slim is reluctant to skip his steady gig for these sharks, Stack almost magically gifts him a bootlegged Irish beer from Chicago.

From

Many of the tracks, including Fugitive's Dream and Don't Back Down on Our Love, have circulated on bootlegs for years, but will finally be heard in studio quality.

From

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement


Bootlebootlegged