1
: the upper part of a boot
2
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
bootlegged; bootlegging; bootlegs
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
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
Chris Willman, Variety, 26 Dec. 2024
But the Bruce vault is a very large place, and there’s still a giant collection of recordings that nobody has ever heard, even on bootlegs.
—Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 20 Dec. 2024
Al Shipley, SPIN, 25 Dec. 2024
The quarterback can bootleg in and out of the perimeter of cameras, as the testing aims to simulate as many football movements as possible.
—Jourdan Rodrigue, The Athletic, 27 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for bootleg 
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Noun
But as most hardcore Dylan fans will know, that exact exchange with the audience did happen a year later, at a 1966 U.K. gig in Manchester that was widely distributed as a bootleg and eventually officially released.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 26 Dec. 2024
But the Bruce vault is a very large place, and there’s still a giant collection of recordings that nobody has ever heard, even on bootlegs.
—Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 20 Dec. 2024
Verb
Living in Woodstock, New York, Dylan spent a lot of time in nearby Saugerties at the Band’s famous Big Pink house, recording dozens of songs that were heavily bootlegged and sometimes sent to other artists to record.
—Al Shipley, SPIN, 25 Dec. 2024
The quarterback can bootleg in and out of the perimeter of cameras, as the testing aims to simulate as many football movements as possible.
—Jourdan Rodrigue, The Athletic, 27 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for bootleg
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Cite this Entry
“Bootleg.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bootleg. Accessed 18 Jan. 2025.
Copy CitationKids 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
bootlegger
noun
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