Word a Day
smuggle
What does smuggle mean?
smuggle (verb): to import or export, illicitly or by stealth, without paying lawful customs charges or duties.
Definition: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
How do you use smuggle in a sentence?
- The tunnel was used to smuggle contraband across the border. (Tatoeba sentence #12381075 by ddnktr, CC BY 2.0 FR)
How do you pronounce smuggle?
/ˈsmʌɡəl/ (IPA, American English). The app reads every word aloud.
Where does smuggle come from?
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.
Etymology: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Words related to smuggle
From Princeton WordNet 3.1.
Test yourself: do you know “smuggle”?
Tap an answer to check it. The same questions the app asks.
What does “smuggle” mean?
to bend the upper part of the body forward and downward to a half-squatting position; crouch
Not quite: that's what stoop means.
to slide along the ground, without the rotary motion that wheels or tracks would normally have
Not quite: that's what skid means.
to import or export, illicitly or by stealth, without paying lawful customs charges or duties
Right! That's what “smuggle” means.
to physically repair (something that is broken, defaced, decayed, torn, or otherwise damaged)
Not quite: that's what mend means.
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