smuggles

verb

present tense third-person singular of smuggle
as in sells
to move (people or goods) from one country to another secretly and illegally They were arrested for smuggling drugs across the border.

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of smuggles In the film, which was based on a Pulitzer Prize nominated memoir, Betty escapes the clutches of her barbaric Iranian husband (played by Alfred Molina) and courageously smuggles herself and her daughter out of Iran. — Literary Hub, 29 June 2026 Produced by Mabel Cheung, Good Trip is the story of a young woman who smuggles her terminally ill father out of a hospital to address his unfulfilled wishes. — Liz Shackleton, Deadline, 19 Mar. 2026 Angela, grieving for her family and friends gone in the war, smuggles goods along the front lines to make a living. — Murtada Elfadl, Variety, 10 Mar. 2026 Hickinbottom smuggles the little kitten aboard his ship, the HMS Amethyst, and the crew obviously immediately falls in love with him and names the little tuxedo cat Simon. — Popular Science Team, Popular Science, 27 Feb. 2026 Not everyone smuggles them into print in the form of an imaginary friend. — Ian Parker, New Yorker, 22 Dec. 2025 According to Reforma, Rocha, a Mexican businessman who also serves as a consul of Guatemala in Mexico, is considered by FRG to be an alleged leader of a criminal organization that smuggles fuel in boats through the Usumacinta River and then in trucks to Querétaro, Mexico. — Luke Chinman, PEOPLE, 26 Nov. 2025 Having criticized the easy assumption that the international order will settle back into a natural balance, Prasad then smuggles in the idea of equilibrium again through the back door, left ajar by his firm faith in the market system. — Jamie Merchant, Washington Post, 7 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for smuggles
  1. sells
  2. distributes
  3. buys
  4. supplies
Verb
  • This is not much of a surprise given that China is already the country’s largest export destination, accounting for 30 percent of everything Australia sells to the world.
    — Adam Y. Liu, Foreign Affairs, 2 Sep. 2026
  • Pay now or later, or not at all Some mutual fund share classes charge a sales commission, or load, that compensates the broker or advisor who sells the fund.
    — Debbie Carlson, Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of sells
Verb
  • Pellicano from SkyPSI told me that SkyPSI does not manufacture drones but distributes them through a partner, allowing customers to either buy or lease them.
    — Ray Fernandez, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2026
  • The ultra-fine mist distributes evenly and leaves a natural, skin-like finish.
    — Mickey Williams, Flow Space, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of distributes
Verb
  • The sanctions aim to isolate the Islamic Republic from its remaining economic partners, including China, which buys more than 80% of Iranian oil shipments, usually through indirect channels.
    — Samy Magdy, Los Angeles Times, 2 Sep. 2026
  • Inherited money in the hands of a 40-year-old buys a house or starts a business.
    — Jon Sabes, Fortune, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of buys
Verb
  • New Zealand supplies more than half of China's dairy imports, a dominance built under a bilateral trade agreement since 2008, that later granted duty-free access for all its dairy products in 2024.
    — Anniek Bao, CNBC, 3 Sep. 2026
  • The company, founded in 2004, uses organic, non-GMO soybeans and supplies grocery stores, restaurants and other food service businesses nationwide.
    — Sacbee.com, Sacbee.com, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of supplies

Browse Nearby Words

smugglers
smuggles
smuggling
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Cite this Entry

“Smuggles.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smuggles. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

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