bootleg

1 of 2

noun

boot·​leg ˈbüt-ˌleg 

-ˌlāg

1

: the upper part of a boot

2

: something bootlegged: such as

a

: moonshine

b

: an unauthorized audio or video recording

3

: a football play in which the quarterback fakes a handoff, hides the ball against his hip, and rolls out compare draw entry 2 sense 8

bootleg adjective

bootleg

2 of 2

verb

bootlegged; bootlegging; bootlegs

transitive verb

1

a

: to carry (alcoholic liquor) on one's person illegally

b

: to manufacture, sell, or transport for sale (alcoholic liquor) illegally

2

a

: to produce, reproduce, or distribute illicitly or without authorization

b

: smuggle

intransitive verb

1

: to engage in bootlegging

2

: to run a bootleg play in football

Synonyms

Noun

• moonshine
• mountain dew
• white lightning

Examples of bootleg in a Sentence

Noun

She was arrested for selling bootlegs online.

getting caught with bootleg during Prohibition could have resulted in a jail sentence

Verb

He bootlegged the show and gave copies to several friends.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

His dad, who worked at a bank and did security for clubs on weekends, ran a mentorship program for young men and showed them a bootleg copy of Boyz n the Hood, the 1992 John Singleton coming-of-age drama set in Los Angeles. —Eric Andersson, People.com, 5 Nov. 2024

And subsequent research has suggested most of those who were poisoned had been drinking this bootleg alcohol for pleasure or escape, not protection from COVID-19. —Bykai Kupferschmidt, science.org, 31 Oct. 2024

Verb

This was the era of Prohibition, dominated by bootlegging gangsters—Chicago alone was said to be home to 1,300 gangs—and some police departments adopted increasingly brutal tactics to wring the truth out of suspects: beating and burning detainees with cigarettes, or depriving them of sleep. —Susan Saulny, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Oct. 2024

Land of the Free, Home of the Bootleggers When technology made music mobile, the American South changed from one type of bootlegging industry to another: copying and selling records. —JSTOR Daily, 24 June 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

boot entry 3 + leg entry 1

Verb

derivative of bootleg entry 1, from the concealment of a flask of liquor in the leg of a boot

First Known Use

Noun

1634, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1898, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Kids Definition

bootleg

1 of 2 verb

boot·​leg -ˌleg 

bootlegged; bootlegging

1

: to make, transport, or sell alcoholic liquor illegally

2

a

: to produce or sell illegally or without permission

bootlegged recordings

b

: smuggle sense 1

bootlegger noun

bootleg

2 of 2 noun

: something bootlegged

especially : moonshine sense 3

bootleg adjective

Legal Definition

bootleg

1 of 2 noun

boot·​leg

: something bootlegged

bootleg adjective

bootleg

2 of 2 verb

bootlegged; bootlegging

transitive verb

1

: to produce, reproduce, or distribute without authorization or license

2

: smuggle compare pirate

intransitive verb

: to engage in bootlegging

bootlegger noun