smuggle
verb (used with object)
to import or export (goods) secretly, in violation of the law, especially without payment of legal duty.
had smuggled
-
past perfectof smuggle.past perfect
Used to express a completed action that took place before another specific past action occurred.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
According to the real Asa, their parents had smuggled her out of the village at a young age but weren’t able to take Yuru with them.
From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2026
But 35-year-old Talankin's film -- based on hours of footage he had smuggled out of Russia -- beat the odds and took home the statuette instead on Sunday.
From Barron's ● Mar. 16, 2026
A UN expert group said in December 2024 that the M23 had smuggled coltan to Rwanda from DR Congo.
From BBC ● Mar. 26, 2025
Mr. Ellsberg had smuggled the Pentagon Papers — all 7,000 pages of them — out of an office, past security guards, in the fall of 1969.
From New York Times ● Jun. 21, 2023
Then I lit the bit of candle Mandy had smuggled to me, placing it carefully out of the breeze.
From "Ella Enchanted" by Gail Carson Levine
