bootleg

[ boot-leg ]

/ ˈbutˌlɛg /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR bootleg ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

alcoholic liquor unlawfully made, sold, or transported, without registration or payment of taxes.

the part of a boot that covers the leg.

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.

to deal in (liquor or other goods) unlawfully.

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

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

adjective

made, sold, or transported unlawfully.

illegal or clandestine.

of or relating to bootlegging.

Nearby words

Origin of bootleg

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

Related formsboot·leg·ger, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for bootlegging

And certainly, ‘big money’ is involved in bootlegging, as liquor smuggling is termed.
The Radio Boys with the Revenue Guards|Gerald Breckenridge
If McFann is mixed up in anything, from bootlegging to bigger crimes, he is only a tool.
Mystery Ranch|Arthur Chapman
It was just that this man had lied to me, after I had done all his bootlegging work.
Mystery Ranch|Arthur Chapman
Blind pigs hardly exist, and bootleggers are rare birds who, if they persist in bootlegging, are rapidly converted into jailbirds.
Abroad at Home|Julian Street

But he'd been trailing McFann for bootlegging and was pretty sure Jim was riding a horse with a broken shoe.
Mystery Ranch|Arthur Chapman

British Dictionary definitions for bootlegging

bootleg

/ (ˈbuːtˌlɛɡ) /

verb -legs, -legging or -legged

to make, carry, or sell (illicit goods, esp alcohol)

noun

something made or sold illicitly, such as alcohol during Prohibition in the US

an illegally made copy of a CD, tape, etc

adjective

produced, distributed, or sold illicitlybootleg whisky; bootleg tapes

Derived Formsbootlegger, noun

Word Origin for bootleg

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

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

Word Origin and History for bootlegging

bootlegging

also boot-legging, 1890, from bootleg (q.v.).

bootleg

"leg of a boot," 1630s, from boot (n.1) + leg (n.). As an adjective in reference to illegal iquor, 1889, American English slang, from the trick of concealing a flask of liquor down the leg of a high boot. Before that the bootleg was the place to secret knives and pistols.

bootleg

noun

verb (used with object), boot·legged, boot·leg·ging.

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

adjective

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of bootleg

Examples from the Web for bootlegging

bootleg

verb -legs, -legging or -legged

noun

adjective

Word Origin for bootleg

bootlegging

bootleg