bootleg

1 of 2

noun

boot·​leg ˈbüt-ˌleg How to pronounce bootleg (audio)
-ˌlāg
1
: the upper part of a boot
2
: something bootlegged: such as
a
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

intransitive verb

1
: to engage in bootlegging
2
: to run a bootleg play in football

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
There was this sort of illicit thrill of listening to Smile bootlegs back then. Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 19 Feb. 2024 Pace takes clear, infectious pleasure in such ephemeral moments, combing through bootlegs of live performances like an archivist looking for clues in a medieval manuscript. Owen Myers, Pitchfork, 29 Feb. 2024 It’s unconfirmed how Kimi was providing the streams, but the process of watching bootlegs was definitely simplified for users—just download the smartphone app and press Play. Reece Rogers, WIRED, 13 Feb. 2024 Related In addition, TikTok has long had a vibrant bootleg scene, which means that in some cases, users have uploaded their own versions of UMG songs or made remixes in place of the official sounds. Elias Leight, Billboard, 6 Feb. 2024 The Dune actor pointed out that some of the music is already available to fans through such bootlegs as The Minnesota Tapes. Mitchell Peters, Billboard, 23 Dec. 2023 Well, for one, the sound quality is a vast improvement over the bootlegs Deadheads already know, plus elegant, colorful packaging adds additional appeal. Saby Reyes-Kulkarni, SPIN, 20 Dec. 2023 Hence, macOS users should be careful when downloading bootleg software. Michael Kan, PCMAG, 22 Jan. 2024 The bootleg market was flooded with audience tapes from other nights. Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 5 Jan. 2024
Verb
The essay topics include Cher, Madonna, and Whitney Houston, as well as Cat Power bootlegs, an obscure Hop Along CD-R, and a perfect Kim Gordon playlist of two songs designed to be heard on a loop. Owen Myers, Pitchfork, 29 Feb. 2024 With a dual tape deck recorder, a duplicate copy of any cassette can be copied onto a blank tape, allowing for commercial recordings to be easily shared and bootlegged. John Morrison, SPIN, 13 Feb. 2024 The faithful will remember that the rapper promised a concept double-album by this name, only pull it back, possibly in pique, after a version of it got leaked and bootlegged. Chris Willman, Variety, 24 Nov. 2023 Sonic Youth have announced a new reissue of Walls Have Ears, their 2xLP live album that was recorded in 1985 and bootlegged the next year. Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 5 Dec. 2023 Twenty years later, in 1995, Stipe was on a yearlong world tour with that band and found himself at a bar in Spain drinking bootlegged absinthe. Jon Mooallem, New York Times, 3 Dec. 2023 That makes the system much more sensitive, like recording a concert with multiple microphones, instead of one fan in the crowd bootlegging it with their smartphone. Matt Simon, WIRED, 30 Nov. 2023 Though demos of Waits’s Alice score were bootlegged for a decade after a CD was stolen from his car, the songs didn’t see proper release as an album until 2002. Al Shipley, Spin, 3 Oct. 2023 Whether broadcast or bootlegged, Wild Style served as an introduction for kids around the world to a thriving, dynamic newfound American counterculture. Vulture, 15 Sep. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bootleg.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of bootleg was in 1634

Dictionary Entries Near bootleg

Cite this Entry

“Bootleg.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bootleg. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

bootleg

1 of 2 verb
boot·​leg -ˌleg How to pronounce bootleg (audio)
bootlegged; bootlegging
1
: to make, transport, or sell alcoholic liquor illegally
2
a
: to produce or sell illegally or without permission
bootlegged recordings
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

More from Merriam-Webster on bootleg

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