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Glite Dictionary
contrabandist

contrabandist

9.9
A person who moves goods across a border illegally, often to avoid taxes
  • noun
  • /ˌkɒntrəˈbændɪst/
  • NSFW
translation icon : contrabandista
  • Authorities arrested a notorious contrabandist who had been smuggling electronics.

Examples

  • The contrabandist managed to avoid customs officers at the border.

  • Local fisherman suspected that a contrabandist was using the harbor for illicit trade.

  • The contrabandist was caught smuggling drugs across the border.

  • Many contrabandists operate in secrecy to avoid detection.

  • The contrabandist was arrested after trying to smuggle luxury goods without declaring them.

  • Authorities tracked down a contrabandist suspected of transporting stolen merchandise.

  • The police intercepted a contrabandist who was attempting to cross the border with illegal firearms.

Synonyms

smuggler
vscontrabandist
  • NSFW
89 3.8

A person who secretly moves goods across borders to avoid paying tax

focuses on illegal trade with extra emphasis on duty evasion
trafficker
vscontrabandist
  • NSFW
62 8.0

A person who illegally buys and sells goods or people

covers illegal trade but does not necessarily involve cross border duty evasion
runner
vscontrabandist
53 8.3

A person who brings goods into a country without paying customs

refers to the same illegal import or export activity emphasizing duties
rumrunner
vscontrabandist
  • Archaic
1 9.9

A person who secretly brings alcohol into a country to avoid the law

covers illegal trade of many goods not only alcoholic beverages
black marketeer
vscontrabandist
  • NSFW
1 7.5

A person who secretly sells scarce or controlled goods for money

often trades within hidden markets rather than importing or exporting to avoid duties
moon curser
vscontrabandist
  • NSFW
9.9

A person who secretly brings goods into or out of a country to avoid paying taxes

is the general legal term focusing on duty evasion
arms-runner
vscontrabandist
  • NSFW
9.9

A person who illegally moves guns across a border to sell them

applies to illegal import or export of any goods not limited to weapons
weaponeer
vscontrabandist
9.9

A person who sells weapons, often illegally

focuses on dealing and trade rather than cross border duty evasion

How Involved

kingpin
  • Literature
33 7.0
trafficker
  • NSFW
62 8.0
contrabandist
  • NSFW
9.9

Surface Forms

contrabandist singular
contrabandists plural

Morphology

contrabandist = contraband (transparent) = contraband + ist

Formed by adding the agentive suffix '-ist' to 'contraband', yielding a person associated with contraband; meaning is directly compositional.

Etymology

Contrabandist comes from the word contraband, which combines contra- 'against' and ban 'an official rule that says no'. So a contrabandist is someone who moves or sells goods against that ban, in short a person who trades in goods illegally.