noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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CMU ARPABET:R EH1 V AH0 N UW2 ER0
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
CMU ARPABET 2:R EH1 V AH0 N Y UW2 ER0
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
A government official who enforces laws prohibiting the illegal distillation of alcohol.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: US, historical, regional
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
a government agent responsible for collecting revenue (especially one responsible for stopping bootlegging)
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: government agent
History
Etymology
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.