bootleg

[ boot-leg ]
See synonyms for: bootlegbootleggedbootleggingbootlegs on Thesaurus.com

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.

  1. 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),boot·legged, boot·leg·ging.
  1. to deal in (liquor or other goods) unlawfully.

verb (used without object),boot·legged, boot·leg·ging.
  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.

  1. of or relating to bootlegging.

Origin of bootleg

1
An Americanism first recorded in 1625–35; boot1 + leg; secondary senses arose from practice of hiding a liquor bottle in the leg of one's boot

Other words from bootleg

  • boot·leg·ger, noun

Words Nearby bootleg

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use bootleg in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for bootleg

bootleg

/ (ˈbuːtˌlɛɡ) /


verb-legs, -legging or -legged
  1. to make, carry, or sell (illicit goods, esp alcohol)

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

adjective
  1. produced, distributed, or sold illicitly: bootleg whisky; bootleg tapes

Origin of bootleg

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

Derived forms of bootleg

  • bootlegger, noun

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