horse trade

¹

noun

1. a shrewdly conducted exchange, as of favors or objects, usually resulting from or accompanied by very close bargaining.
2. an exchanging or trading of horses.

horse-trade

²

[ hawrs-treyd ]

verb (used without object)

, horse-trad·ed, horse-trad·ing.

1. to bargain or trade shrewdly.

Word History and Origins

Origin of horse trade¹

An Americanism dating back to 1840–50

Origin of horse trade²

An Americanism dating back to 1820–30

Example Sentences

“It’s really a new page in the horse trade.”

From Science Magazine

The governor, House speaker and Senate president “still do horse trade,” said John Hallman, legislative director of the Republican Liberty Caucus of Florida, a conservative advocacy group.

From Washington Post

“A Rocky Mountain trade chain had carried horses to the Northwestern Plains by the 1730s. … The horse trade ignited a technological revolution that reconfigured several Indigenous worlds within a generation.”

From Science Magazine

That’s why any deal could have a huge impact on researchers, because it boils down to a political horse trade.

From Science Magazine

The researchers saw the robustness of the bones decline in the early 16th century, which would coincide with a decline in the British horse trade.

From Washington Post

Related Words

• agree
• arrange
• confer
• consult
• debate
• haggle
• handle
• mediate
• settle
• work out