What does rumrunner mean?
A rumrunner is a person who secretly transports alcoholic liquor in defiance of the law, most famously during Prohibition in the United States and Canada. In that historical setting, the word referred to bootleggers who moved whiskey, rum, and other spirits by road, rail, or boat while avoiding government inspectors. The term carries strong associations with smuggling routes, hidden caches, and law-enforcement raids, although its literal meaning does not depend on any particular product or route. Today it is usually encountered in historical discussion or used figuratively for someone who moves something illicit across a boundary. A rumrunner is not necessarily the same as a bootlegger, who may sell illegally obtained liquor without smuggling it, or a moonshiner, who illicitly makes distilled spirits. The compound form combines rum with runner, reflecting the longstanding idea of running a cargo, particularly a liquid one.
nounA person who smuggles alcoholic liquor, especially during the Prohibition era in the United States and Canada.
- A person who smuggles alcoholic liquor, especially during the Prohibition era in the United States and Canada.
"The rumrunner hid bottles of whiskey in a specially adapted car."
"In the 1920s, a rumrunner carried crates of whiskey across the border by night."
"The novel portrays its antagonist as a rumrunner who uses remote routes to evade the authorities."
The standard plural adds -s to the singular noun.
"The authorities captured several rumrunners transporting illegal liquor."
During Prohibition, the rumrunner became the original long-distance, high-speed smuggler.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does rumrunner come from?
English. The modern noun is a compound of rum and runner, a name associated especially with the illicit liquor trade during Prohibition in the United States and Canada. Runner comes from run, whose verb descends from Old English rinnan; the related forms runner and running preserve that base. The separate ancestry of rum is uncertain, so the word's most secure etymological history lies in the compound rather than in a single inherited root.
Related word forms
How rumrunner is actually used
The term is strongly associated with North American Prohibition-era bootlegging and can sound old-fashioned in ordinary contemporary use. Outside historical or figurative contexts, speakers may prefer smuggler or bootlegger.