revenuer

R1E1V4E1N1U1E1R1

noun

A government official who enforces laws prohibiting the illegal distillation of alcohol.

Opposite
smugglerbootleggermoonshinershinerrum-runner
First used 19th c.Scrabble 11
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Meanings

nounrevenuer (plural revenuers)

plural revenuers

  1. UShistoricalregionalA government official who enforces laws prohibiting the illegal distillation of alcohol.First known use 19th c.

    ‘Mister, if yo're another revenuer, I kin tell ye y'aint gonna leave this valley alive.’

    1970, Donald Harington, Lightning Bug
    1 more example

    I don’t know, but I should start by gettin’ me a rifle: we got the reveneurs a-comin’.

    2020 April 28, Kimberly Altamirano, “CPAPs, Hickeys and Biscuits” (0:20:03 from the start), in Lynda Tarryk, director, The Conners, season 2, episode 19 (television), spoken by Dan Conner (John Goodman), United States of America: Mohawk Productions / Sara + Tom, via ABC

    Antonyms: smuggler, bootlegger, moonshiner, shiner, rum-runner

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA government official who enforces laws prohibiting the illegal distillation of alcohol.

Opposite
smugglerbootleggermoonshinershinerrum-runner

Origin

From revenue + -er, reflecting the U.S. Treasury Department's former Bureau of Internal Revenue (a predecessor of the IRS and ATF), because the administrative mechanism for enforcing Prohibition originated in excise tax administration; Wikipedia gives details at Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives § History.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

revenuer. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/revenuer

MLA

“revenuer.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/revenuer. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “revenuer,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/revenuer.

Source: revenuer on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.