What does "smuggle" mean?
To import or export, illicitly or by stealth, without paying lawful customs charges or duties
Smuggle
/ˈsmʌɡəl/ verb, slang
verb, slang ·Moderate ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: To import or export, illicitly or by stealth, without paying lawful customs charges or duties
- Grammar: smuggle is listed as verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: bootlegging, bootlegs, concealment movement, fondle.
- Useful contrasts: by the book transfer, explicit insertion, lawful trade.
- Usage evidence: Mary tried to smuggle a hacksaw blade into the prison inside a cake.
How to use "smuggle"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "smuggle" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "smuggle" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "smuggle" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "smuggle" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "smuggle" is acting as verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "bootlegging" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "smuggle", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Verb
- 1 To import or export, illicitly or by stealth, without paying lawful customs charges or duties intransitive, transitive
"A lorry driver who smuggled illegal immigrants into the UK in the back of his trailer has been jailed."
- 2 import or export without paying customs duties wordnet
- 3 To bring in surreptitiously transitive
"22 March 2012, Scott Tobias, AV Club The Hunger Gameshttp://www.avclub.com/articles/the-hunger-games,71293/ While Collins does include a love triangle, a coming-of-age story, and other YA-friendly elements in the mix, they serve as a Trojan horse to smuggle readers into a hopeless world where love becomes a stratagem and growing up is a matter of basic survival."
- 4 To fondle or cuddle. obsolete, transitive
- 5 To thrash or be thrashed by a bear's claws, or to swipe at or be swiped at by a person's arms in a bearlike manner. slang
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
by the book transferexplicit insertionlawful tradelegal import
Example
"Mary tried to smuggle a hacksaw blade into the prison inside a cake."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "smuggle"?
Common synonyms include: bootlegging, bootlegs, concealment movement, fondle, illicit import, insert covertly.
How do you use "smuggle" in a sentence?
Mary tried to smuggle a hacksaw blade into the prison inside a cake.
How do you pronounce "smuggle"?
Pronounced /ˈsmʌɡəl/.
Etymology
From earlier smuckle, either from Dutch smokkelen (“to smuggle”), a frequentative form of Middle Dutch smūken (“to act secretly, be sneaky”), from Old Dutch *smugan, or from Dutch Low Saxon or German Low German smuggeln; all are from Proto-West Germanic *smeugan (“to creep; slip through or into”). cognates and related terms Cognate with Saterland Frisian smuggelje (“to smuggle”), West Frisian smokkelje (“to smuggle”), German Low German smuggeln, smuckeln (“to move insidiously, smuggle”), German schmuggeln (“to smuggle”), Danish smugle (“to smuggle”), Swedish smuggla (“to smuggle”). Related also to Icelandic smjúga (“to creep, penetrate”), Swedish smyga (“to sneak, slip, crawl, lurk, steal”), German schmiegen (“to nestle, wrap, snuggle”), Old English smēogan, smūgan (“to creep, crawl, move gradually, penetrate”).