rumrunner

R1U1M3R1U1N1N1E1R1

noun

An illegal smuggler of rum.

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Meanings

nounrumrunner (plural rumrunners)

plural rumrunners · alternative rum-runner · alternative rum runner

  1. An illegal smuggler of rum.
  2. broadlyA smuggler of any alcoholic drink.

    Tom became increasingly skilled at dealing with what he called “rascality”: cow rustlers, horse thieves, scalawags, rumrunners, stagecoach robbers, desperadoes, and other lawbreakers.

    2021 (originally published 2017, adapted 2021), David Grann, Killers of the Flower Moon: Adapted for Younger Readers, page 126
  3. A boat used for smuggling illicit alcoholic drinks.
  4. A go-fast boat; a powerboat of the type associated with the smuggling of rum.

Origin

From rum + runner.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

rumrunner. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rumrunner

MLA

“rumrunner.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rumrunner. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “rumrunner,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rumrunner.

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