rumrunner

American  

[ruhm-ruhn-er] / ˈrʌmˌrʌn ər /

noun

1. a person or ship engaged in smuggling liquor.

---

Other Word Forms

• rumrunning noun

Etymology

Origin of rumrunner

An Americanism dating back to 1920; rum ¹ + runner

Example Sentences

In clipped, fast-moving scenes, Mr. Sayles shifts between the boardroom and the assembly line, and radiates out to develop the roles of attendant characters, from journalists to labor activists to gangsters and rumrunners.

From The Wall Street Journal

Earlier that year, the Coast Guard had spotted the I’m Alone in the Gulf of Mexico, sailing in coastal lanes that rumrunners often used.

From Literature

A Detroit chorus girl weds her stage producer without telling her rumrunner boyfriend.

From Los Angeles Times

To his best recollection, his father, Gustave, “was a rumrunner,” he said.

From New York Times

Williams’ narrative offers a tropical milieu of rumrunners, skulduggery, concealed identity, dangerous complications for Virginia and her toddler daughter Evelyn — and lots of entertainment for readers.

From Seattle Times