smurf
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
One member of a team, each of whom acquires a small amount of money or ingredients for manufacturing drugs, keeping the transactions too small in order to not raise suspicion.
Register: slang
Where it’s used:
Used
American English
Examples
Each smurf goes to different banks and purchases cashier's checks in denominations of less than $ 10,000, thus bypassing the reporting requirement.
Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)
Sources & notes
Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30 via kaikki.org).
Common questions
What does “smurf” mean?
One member of a team, each of whom acquires a small amount of money or ingredients for manufacturing drugs, keeping the transactions too small in order to not raise suspicion.
Is “smurf” formal or informal?
smurf is generally slang.