smuggle
Americanverb (used with object)
-
smuggles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
smuggled,
past participle, past
-
smuggling
present participle
-
to import or export (goods) secretly, in violation of the law, especially without payment of legal duty.
-
to bring, take, put, etc., surreptitiously.
She smuggled the gun into the jail inside a cake.
verb (used without object)
-
smuggles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
smuggled,
past participle, past
-
smuggling
present participle
verb
-
to import or export (prohibited or dutiable goods) secretly
-
(tr; often foll by into or out of) to bring or take secretly, as against the law or rules
-
to conceal; hide
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
smugglesimple
-
smugglessimple
-
have smuggledperfect
-
has smuggledperfect
-
am smugglingprogressive
-
are smugglingprogressive
-
is smugglingprogressive
-
have been smugglingperfect progressive
-
has been smugglingperfect progressive
Past
-
smuggledsimple
-
had smuggledperfect
-
was smugglingprogressive
-
were smugglingprogressive
-
had been smugglingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of smuggle
1680–90; < Low German smuggeln; cognate with German schmuggeln
Explanation
If you import or export something without paying customs duties, you smuggle it. All kinds of things have been smuggled over the years: art, alcohol, drugs, animals, even tea! The verb smuggle has expanded to generally mean to bring something in or out in secret, especially if doing so breaks a rule or a law. Kids may smuggle candy into a movie theater so they don't have to pay the high prices at the concession stand. You may smuggle Christmas presents into the house so your kids don't see them. Illegal immigrants may be smuggled into the country for a fee, but if caught they can be deported.
Vocabulary lists containing smuggle
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
The Circuit
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Enrique's Journey
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
For a decade, the Revolutionary Guard used small fishing boats, known as dhows, to smuggle small arms, drone components and missiles out of Iran to the Houthis.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
Do not smuggle in assumptions from the past.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026
He adds that he believes groups linked to the regime are now trying to smuggle more fuel to take advantage of rising prices caused by the war.
From BBC ● Jun. 16, 2026
Federal authorities charged a Daly City man in an international trafficking plot to smuggle nearly 300 poached loggerhead musk turtles from Florida to Taiwan.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 29, 2026
I used to paint the arms and legs of the princess doll each time the real princess altered her skin color, keeping up-to-date with the scandal sheets Maman used to smuggle past Du Barry.
From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton
After the war, when the princess decides to defect to the West, a river-barge captain nicknamed St. Peter smuggles her past communist guards in a sealed, nearly full water tank.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
The Oakland-based musician and filmmaker smuggles revolutionary ideas into his latest movie, an absurdist candy-colored romp about shoplifting and workers’ rights.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 21, 2026
Treating occurrences as things that exist smuggles confusion into our language and concepts.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 2, 2025
Graham Norton once noted that "she uses humour like a Trojan horse, in which she smuggles in all sorts of difficult issues."
From BBC ● May 26, 2024
He's the one who smuggles me my news stories, even a book every now and again, in exchange for helping him with this dark deed or that one.
From "Dread Nation" by Justina Ireland
In the final phase, the elite international team that escorted her had to dodge Venezuelan security forces and duck police inspections at checkpoints as it smuggled her north.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 1, 2026
Jeremy told the Supreme Court: "There was no reason why, if Ben Field had smuggled Dalmane into Peter Farquhar's food or drink that night, he would have restricted himself to a therapeutic dose."
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
Kang noted the influence of South Korean dramas smuggled in on USB drives, finding them "so refreshing and more credible than North Korea state propaganda".
From Barron's ● Sep. 28, 2026
As a young man, by his account, he smuggled diamonds, oversaw coconut plantations, dynamited fish, captained schooners and hunted killer cannibals in the New Guinea jungle.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
The musket was smuggled out to Lexington by Rab’s uncle.
From "Johnny Tremain" by Esther Hoskins Forbes
He added that allegations the Singaporean company was smuggling chips to China "were thoroughly investigated and debunked last year".
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026
The spokesperson added that allegations the Singaporean company was smuggling chips to China "were thoroughly investigated and debunked last year".
From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026
Homeland Security Investigations agents typically focused on transnational criminal investigations such as drug smuggling and human trafficking.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2026
Lamar became the primary employer in Zulia state, offering cash production bonuses, subsidized food, and medical care in a region with few formal job opportunities outside of border smuggling.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026
Wasn’t it a hop, skip, and a jump from selling Mother’s goods on the black market to ferrying around documents on her bicycle, to couriering medicines, to smuggling out people?
From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
