How to use bootleg in a sentence

21 example sentences · verb, noun, adjective

Bootleg means to engage in bootlegging. Example: “In the 1930s, Grandpa used to bootleg to make ends meet.”

Examples of bootleg by meaning

verbTo engage in bootlegging.

Only certain dishes are allowed—-not fish and lobster, reserved to the state restaurants—-and those paladares that break the rules operate like speakeasies in the time of Prohibition, the fish-bootlegging owners keeping a nervous eye out for informers.2010, Theodore Dalrymple, Our Culture, What’s Left of It

verbTo make, transport and/or sell illegal alcoholic liquor.

In the 1930s, Grandpa used to bootleg to make ends meet.
In the 1930s, Grandpa used to bootleg whiskey from a still hidden in the backwoods.

verbTo make, transport and/or sell an illegal version or copy of a copyrighted product.

In the 1990s, Grandpa used to bootleg under some sort of Robin-Hood-esque notion.
In the 1990s, Grandpa used to bootleg Windows CD-ROMs.

verbTo operate a mine illicitly.

In the 1930s, Grandpa used to bootleg coal from a shaft hidden in the backwoods.

nounAn illegally produced, transported, or sold product.

He thinks he can cross this border with bootleg and get away with it. I doubt he's right. Maybe years ago, but not nowadays.

nounAn unauthorized recording; for example, of a live concert.

Years ago I heard a fantastic bootleg of that song. It was my favorite rendition.

More sentences with bootleg

Kesh's assistant, Wilma, wants to surprise Kesh with some bootlegged swill from Kadara.2017, BioWare, Mass Effect: Andromeda (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC, scene: Task: Beer Run. From the entry swill
But the notorious British heroin "epidemic" was nothing next to the entirely bootleg U.1988 November 18, Eric Scigliano, “How to Win the War on Drugs”, in Chicago Reader. From the entry nontherapeutic
Red Mammy, the proprietress, bootlegs a horrendous brew known as "Who Shot John?"1932, B Crawford, “Piney Ridge, Virginia”, in The Virginia Quarterly Review. From the entry who shot John
I'm hopefully hitting up a Cashies in the new year as I’ve seen buckets of bootleg ipod dirtybuds.2020 December 26, @PodsDank, Twitter. From the entry dirtybud
For instance, some people complain about the unskippable trailers present in commercial DVDs that are absent in bootlegs.2012, Eric Diehl, Securing Digital Video, page 20. From the entry unskippable
Of course, downloading a ripped-off version of, say, the All Saints' Never Ever is the digital equivalent of bootlegging (bitlegging?).1999 March 11, John Graham-Cumming, “Make your PC really sing”, in Alan Rusbridger, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media…. From the entry bitlegging
The sale of liquor (which is banned by state law anyhow) at bootlegging liquor stores was banned citywide.1965, Natchez Hurries Bi-racial Talks as Fear Grips the City, “Jet”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name), volume XXVIII…. From the entry citywide
Probably the most popular successors to Veronal are Seconal (“red birds” to the bootleg trade) and Nembutal ("yellow jackets").1952 October 13, Richard L. Williams, “‘To sleep: perchance…’”, in Life, volume 33, number 15, page 110. From the entry redbird
Probably the most popular successors to Veronal are Seconal (“red birds” to the bootleg trade) and Nembutal (“yellow jackets”).1952 October 13, Richard L. Williams, “‘To sleep: perchance…’”, in Life, volume 33, number 15, page 110. From the entry yellow jacket
You can watch a bootleg or a slime tutorial of Heathers, but it's never gonna be the same as sitting in a theater with people.2022 February 28, Kat Mokrynski, “Student Blog: An Up-Close Look at Broadway Up Close”, in BroadwayWorld, archived from the original on 20…. From the entry slime tutorial
As the vintner Louis Foppiano recalled years later, Sonoma County during Prohibition became a center for bootlegging, not of wine, but of spirits.Richard Mendelson, From Demon to Darling: A Legal History of Wine in America (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2009, p. 82). From the entry jackass
I have many Iron Maiden bootlegs.1999, Tom Fletcher, “Looking for Iron Maiden boot traders”, in alt.music.bootlegs (Usenet). From the entry boot
We built a fire in the huge fireplace, then sat around drinkling bootleg beer and whiskey, compliments of Joe himself, Valley High's greatest athlete.1965, John Treadwell Nichols, The Sterile Cuckoo. From the entry drinkle

Meaning of bootleg

verb To engage in bootlegging.
verb To make, transport and/or sell illegal alcoholic liquor.
verb To make, transport and/or sell an illegal version or copy of a copyrighted product.

Full definition of bootleg

Questions about bootleg in a sentence

How do you use bootleg in a sentence?: Bootleg is used as a verb, noun and adjective. For example: “In the 1930s, Grandpa used to bootleg to make ends meet.”
What is a short sentence with bootleg?: “I have many Iron Maiden bootlegs.”
What does bootleg mean?: Bootleg means to engage in bootlegging.

Adapted from Wiktionary: bootleg (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this page: “How to use bootleg in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/bootleg. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.