bootleg

A recording made or shared without permission, often of a live musical performance.

• I bought a bootleg of the concert.
• Fans shared old bootlegs online.
• This bootleg captures a song missing from the official album.

How to use it: a bootleg of something (He found a bootleg of the band’s final concert.)

Similar words: unauthorized recording

Common phrases: live bootleg, concert bootleg, bootleg of something

A product made, carried, or sold illegally.

• The bottle was a bootleg.
• Police seized bootleg from the warehouse.
• The stall sold bootlegs of popular computer games.

Similar words: illegal copy, pirated copy

Common phrases: sell a bootleg, cheap bootleg, seize bootleg

The part of a boot that covers the ankle and extends up the leg.

• The bootleg covered her calf.
• A tear ran along the leather bootleg.
• The shoemaker stitched the two bootlegs by hand.

Similar words: boot shaft

Common phrases: leather bootleg, tall bootleg

Made, carried, or sold illegally or without the owner’s permission.

• They sold bootleg DVDs.
• Police found bootleg alcohol in the truck.
• She refused to buy a bootleg copy of the album.

Similar words: pirated, illegal

Opposites: legal

Common phrases: bootleg alcohol, bootleg copy, bootleg recording, bootleg goods

Made as a cheap, poor copy of something better.

• This tastes like bootleg coffee.
• He wore a bootleg version of a designer jacket.
• The cheap toy looked like a bootleg superhero figure.

Similar words: fake, knockoff, inferior

Opposites: authentic

Common phrases: bootleg version, bootleg coffee, bootleg brand

To make, carry, or sell alcohol or copied products illegally.

• They bootlegged whisky across the border.
• The gang used to bootleg films on cheap discs.
• Police caught him bootlegging alcohol during the ban.

Similar words: smuggle, pirate

Common phrases: bootleg liquor, bootleg alcohol, bootleg films

To run a mine or take minerals from it without legal permission.

• They bootlegged coal from the abandoned mine.
• Workers began to bootleg when the official mine closed.
• Authorities discovered that the men had been bootlegging for months.

Similar words: mine illegally

Common phrases: bootleg coal, bootleg a mine