as in poaching
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as in selling
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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Recent Examples of smuggling
Lucas Lilieholm, CNN Money, 28 Apr. 2026
Two San Diego men were sentenced for smuggling endangered exotic birds across the border.
—David Zahniser, Los Angeles Times, 25 Apr. 2026
Two employees at Los Angeles International Airport face federal felony drug charges after being arrested on suspicion of drug smuggling.
—Julie Sharp, CBS News, 23 Apr. 2026
The Mexican Mafia was started in the 1950s at a juvenile jail and grew to an international criminal organization that controls smuggling, drug sales and extortion from inside California’s penal system.
—ABC News, 23 Apr. 2026
He got shot while going undercover in an animal-smuggling ring, came up against IA multiple times for accusations of excessive force, and had to interrogate Hayden Panettiere as two different people.
—Bethy Squires, Vulture, 17 Apr. 2026
Violent gangsters ran fentanyl and human smuggling over the Rio Grande.
—Ioan Grillo, Time, 15 Apr. 2026
After moving back to Miami, Perera pleaded guilty in the mid-1990s to cocaine trafficking and tax-fraud charges in the massive drug-smuggling case against the Colombian cartel and was sentenced to eight years in prison.
—Jay Weaver, Miami Herald, 14 Apr. 2026
Shackelford’s three co-conspirators pleaded guilty in connection with the prison bribery and contraband smuggling scheme.
—Kc Baker, PEOPLE, 9 Apr. 2026
David Zahniser, Los Angeles Times, 25 Apr. 2026
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office did charge Solis and Lopez, separately, in June and July 2025 — roughly a year after the allegations were made in the lawsuit — for allegedly smuggling Xanax into the county’s juvenile facilities.
—Jason Henry, Daily News, 24 Apr. 2026
The 23-year-old influencer appeared in court on April 24, where she was sentenced for her role in smuggling over 37 pounds of cannabis in a suitcase while traveling from Thailand to her home in Edinburgh in April 2025, reported the BBC and The Times.
—Luke Chinman, PEOPLE, 24 Apr. 2026
Jarvis then spent eight years evading the FBI in Paris, London and Ibiza, after an industrial sized hash-smuggling operation went wrong.
—Richard Johnson, New York Daily News, 19 Apr. 2026
This process, however, led to some accusing Gilgan of smuggling full-on undisclosed AI slop into the pages of the paper of record.
—Maggie Harrison Dupré, Futurism, 9 Apr. 2026
Shares rose 4% after the company revealed on Tuesday that two independent members of the company's board are conducting an investigation regarding the indictment of employees accused of smuggling Nvidia chips to China.
—Davis Giangiulio,darla Mercado, Cfp®, CNBC, 8 Apr. 2026
Pauli argued that some additional, invisible particle must be smuggling the leftover energy into the world.
—Quanta Magazine, 8 Apr. 2026
Of those, five pleaded guilty to conspiring to kill Haiti’s president while a sixth pleaded guilty to smuggling ballistic vests into the Caribbean country.
—Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 6 Apr. 2026
Noun
Sri Lanka’s Police Narcotics Bureau is investigating if the smuggling activities are connected to local drug-running networks.
—Lucas Lilieholm, CNN Money, 28 Apr. 2026
Two San Diego men were sentenced for smuggling endangered exotic birds across the border.
—David Zahniser, Los Angeles Times, 25 Apr. 2026
Two employees at Los Angeles International Airport face federal felony drug charges after being arrested on suspicion of drug smuggling.
—Julie Sharp, CBS News, 23 Apr. 2026
The Mexican Mafia was started in the 1950s at a juvenile jail and grew to an international criminal organization that controls smuggling, drug sales and extortion from inside California’s penal system.
—ABC News, 23 Apr. 2026
He got shot while going undercover in an animal-smuggling ring, came up against IA multiple times for accusations of excessive force, and had to interrogate Hayden Panettiere as two different people.
—Bethy Squires, Vulture, 17 Apr. 2026
Violent gangsters ran fentanyl and human smuggling over the Rio Grande.
—Ioan Grillo, Time, 15 Apr. 2026
After moving back to Miami, Perera pleaded guilty in the mid-1990s to cocaine trafficking and tax-fraud charges in the massive drug-smuggling case against the Colombian cartel and was sentenced to eight years in prison.
—Jay Weaver, Miami Herald, 14 Apr. 2026
Shackelford’s three co-conspirators pleaded guilty in connection with the prison bribery and contraband smuggling scheme.
—Kc Baker, PEOPLE, 9 Apr. 2026
Verb
Two San Diego men have been sentenced for smuggling vulnerable birds into the United States, with one heading to prison and the other getting hit with thousands in fines.
—David Zahniser, Los Angeles Times, 25 Apr. 2026
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office did charge Solis and Lopez, separately, in June and July 2025 — roughly a year after the allegations were made in the lawsuit — for allegedly smuggling Xanax into the county’s juvenile facilities.
—Jason Henry, Daily News, 24 Apr. 2026
The 23-year-old influencer appeared in court on April 24, where she was sentenced for her role in smuggling over 37 pounds of cannabis in a suitcase while traveling from Thailand to her home in Edinburgh in April 2025, reported the BBC and The Times.
—Luke Chinman, PEOPLE, 24 Apr. 2026
Jarvis then spent eight years evading the FBI in Paris, London and Ibiza, after an industrial sized hash-smuggling operation went wrong.
—Richard Johnson, New York Daily News, 19 Apr. 2026
This process, however, led to some accusing Gilgan of smuggling full-on undisclosed AI slop into the pages of the paper of record.
—Maggie Harrison Dupré, Futurism, 9 Apr. 2026
Shares rose 4% after the company revealed on Tuesday that two independent members of the company's board are conducting an investigation regarding the indictment of employees accused of smuggling Nvidia chips to China.
—Davis Giangiulio,darla Mercado, Cfp®, CNBC, 8 Apr. 2026
Pauli argued that some additional, invisible particle must be smuggling the leftover energy into the world.
—Quanta Magazine, 8 Apr. 2026
Of those, five pleaded guilty to conspiring to kill Haiti’s president while a sixth pleaded guilty to smuggling ballistic vests into the Caribbean country.
—Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 6 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for smuggling
Noun
-
However, the pan needs to be deep enough and have a lid for proper poaching.—
BestReviews,
Chicago Tribune,
21 Apr. 2026
-
Those populations continue to decline due to habitat loss, human-elephant conflict and poaching.—
Hanna Wickes,
Charlotte Observer,
15 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
McVay selling the Simpson pick a little more on Thursday night wouldn’t have changed Stafford’s approach to the coming season one bit.—
Zak Keefer,
New York Times,
27 Apr. 2026
-
Looking for a way to cope, Shemmeld bought a secondhand ice cream truck for about $17,500 and began selling treats in his spare time.—
Kelly McGreal,
FOXNews.com,
26 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Gulf Arab nations, chief among them the United Arab Emirates, have decried Iran’s control of the strait as akin to piracy.—
Jon Gambrell,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Apr. 2026
-
The list raises many unanswered questions, not least of which is the possibility that the United States is now in favor of piracy on the high seas.—
Susan B. Glasser,
New Yorker,
23 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The new version is made by the original producer, Ecosse Films, and Masterpiece PBS in association with Northern Ireland Screen and Banijay Rights, which is distributing the six-part series internationally.—
Jesse Whittock,
Deadline,
30 Apr. 2026
-
For a large, thick cast-iron skillet, electric burners are terrible for evenly distributing heat and keeping oil hot.—
Jack Hennessy,
Outdoor Life,
29 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
At a news conference on Monday announcing Lawhead’s arrest, Placer County District Attorney Morgan Gire said his office will file a charge of murder against Lawhead, along with two special circumstance allegations for killing Wanner during the commission of rape and kidnapping.—
Rosalio Ahumada,
Sacbee.com,
1 May 2026
-
The extended narrative emerges after federal prosecutors announced robbery and kidnapping charges in the case this week, nearly two months after the incident made headlines.—
Tess Kenny,
Chicago Tribune,
1 May 2026
Verb
-
To learn that zoos will be trafficking the sloths to other zoos and be used in breeding is abhorrent.—
Letters to the Editor,
The Orlando Sentinel,
28 Apr. 2026
-
Five Connecticut residents have been indicted on accusations that they were involved in trafficking cocaine into the state from Puerto Rico.—
Justin Muszynski,
Hartford Courant,
28 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
In the northwest, criminal banditry has taken root in areas where state presence is thin.—
Yusuf Tuggar,
semafor.com,
16 Feb. 2026
-
In parts of the country, violent attacks, kidnappings and banditry shadow daily life.—
Vanessa Offiong,
CNN Money,
19 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
From the anti-Trump side, meanwhile, the American people hear a nervous rustling of vague doubts.—
David Frum,
The Atlantic,
3 Jan. 2026
-
In the teaser, above, Joanna, 47, can be seen speaking on-camera discussing the plans for the construction of the home on the balcony before a rustling can be heard coming from the woods behind her.—
Kimberlee Speakman,
PEOPLE,
27 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Smuggling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smuggling. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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