bootleg

/ˌbutˈlɛg/

/ˈbutlɛg/

Other forms: bootlegging; bootlegged; bootlegs

Use the adjective bootleg to describe something that is sold illegally, usually because it was stolen in the first place. If you download a movie on your computer and then sell it to a friend, it's a bootleg film.

Bootleg is good for describing something that's stolen, smuggled, or pirated. You can use it as a verb, too, when you're talking about selling something illegal or obtained in a sneaky way, like secret recordings of a rock concert or contraband candy at summer camp. The word bootleg, which originally meant simply "the leg of a boot," refers to alcohol smugglers' trick of hiding flasks inside their boots.

Definitions of bootleg

1. noun

   whiskey illegally distilled from a corn mash
   synonyms: corn liquor, moonshine

   type of:

   corn, corn whiskey, corn whisky

   whiskey distilled from a mash of not less than 80 percent corn
2. adjective

   distributed or sold illicitly
   synonyms: black, black-market, contraband, smuggled

   illegal

   prohibited by law or by official or accepted rules
3. verb

   sell illicit products such as drugs or alcohol
   type of:

   sell

   exchange or deliver for money or its equivalent
4. verb

   produce or distribute illegally
   “bootleg tapes of the diva's singing”

   type of:

   create, make, produce

   create or manufacture a man-made product
5. noun

   the part of a boot above the instep
   type of:

   covering

   an artifact that covers something else (usually to protect or shelter or conceal it)