smuggler

noun

smug·​gler ˈsmə-glər 

plural smugglers

: one who smuggles something

The traffic in drugs—especially cocaine—to Florida by sea and air from South America has been generating wealth to rival that of the tourist trade and attracting a cadre of ingenious and ruthless smugglers from around the world.

—Jeremiah Tax

In nearby Nogales smugglers tunnel 6 ft. under the border and funnel people through.

—Terry McCarthy

Officials in Paraguay raided a wildlife smuggling operation in its capital city, Asunción, on March 25, recovering two critically endangered Brazilian parrots, which Paraguayan smugglers had hoped to sell in West Germany for $40,000.

—Focus

Synonyms

• bootlegger
• contrabandist
• courier
• runner

Examples of smuggler in a Sentence

during Prohibition, smugglers of alcohol did a brisk business

Recent Examples on the Web

On the flip side, smugglers are incentivized by the hefty payments migrants will make to be escorted across the border, or in this case, to U.S. shores. —Audrey Conklin, Fox News, 3 Mar. 2025

The film's brash, documentary-style production perfectly captured Hackman's character, a seething, sadistic NYC cop seeking to bust a ring of heroin smugglers — like Ahab on the hunt for the white whale. —David Morgan, CBS News, 27 Feb. 2025

Some uncrewed systems already exist: the U.S. Marine Corps has developed an autonomous vessel, modeled on the boats of drug smugglers, that can be remotely operated from thousands of miles away. —Jennifer Kavanagh, Foreign Affairs, 25 Feb. 2025

The smuggler, who was trying to board a flight to Europe, was arrested at Rafael Nunez International Airport in Cartagena after a body-scan alerted officials that something was concealed in his hair, officials said on Monday. —Matt Robison, Newsweek, 25 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1661, in the meaning defined above