Meanings
nounbuttlegging (uncountable)
- informaluncountableThe smuggling of cigarettes.
Massachusetts Democrat Edward Kennedy, who conducted Senate buttlegging hearings last month, says that the Mob's infiltration has led to "increasing violent crime: extortion and bribery, truck hijackings, armed robberies, serious assaults […]
1977, Time, volume 110, numbers 19-26, page 84
Origin
Blend of butt + bootlegging.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
buttlegging. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/buttlegging
MLA
“buttlegging.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/buttlegging. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “buttlegging,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/buttlegging.
Source: buttlegging on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.