noun

bootlegger

BOOT-leg-ur/ˈbuːtleɡər/

A person who makes, transports, or sells goods illegally, especially alcohol.

The bootlegger bottles liquor from a still as a police officer enters.

A Prohibition-era illicit liquor maker is caught bottling spirits from a working still as a police officer enters the concealed workspace.

Etymology

bootEnglishfoot and lower-leg covering

+legEnglishleg

+gerEnglishperson who does something

The boot’s leg was a hiding place for flasks of illicit liquor. Bootlegger first named an illegal liquor seller, then broadened to someone making or selling other goods illegally.

In context

Reading Through History2:05

This alcohol would make its way into the U.S. with the help of "bootleggers". Bootlegger is a general term used for anyone who was smuggling alcohol illegally.

History Brief: Bootleggers

More examples

Police seized several crates of whiskey from the bootlegger's truck.
During Prohibition, bootleggers supplied alcohol to secret bars.
The store owner refuses to buy untaxed cigarettes from bootleggers.

Forms

bootlegger · bootleggers

bootleg verb — To make, transport, or sell goods illegally.

bootlegging noun — The illegal production or sale of goods.

Similar words

smuggler: Specifically moves goods secretly across borders or past authorities.
moonshiner: Specifically makes liquor illegally, rather than transporting or selling it.
trafficker: Trades in illegal goods, not necessarily making them.