trade

[ treyd ]

noun

1. the act or process of buying, selling, or exchanging commodities, at either wholesale or retail, within a country or between countries:

   domestic trade; foreign trade.

   Synonyms: dealing, barter, business

2. the act of buying, selling, or exchanging stocks, bonds, or currency:

   Stock brokerages typically charge a commission per trade.

3. a purchase or sale; business deal or transaction.
4. an exchange of items, usually without payment of money.

   Synonyms: swap

5. Sports. the transfer of a player or players among professional teams:

   a midseason trade.

6. any occupation pursued as a business or livelihood.

   Synonyms: craft, living, employment, métier, vocation

7. some line of skilled manual or mechanical work; craft:

   the trade of a carpenter; printer's trade.

8. people engaged in a particular line of business:

   a lecture of interest only to the trade.

9. market:

   an increase in the tourist trade.

10. a field of business activity:

    a magazine for the furniture trade.

11. the customers of a business establishment.
12. Informal. trade paper.
13. trades. trade wind ( def 1 ).

verb (used with object)

, trad·ed, trad·ing.

1. to buy and sell; barter; traffic in.
2. to exchange:

   to trade seats.

3. Sports. to transfer (a player under contract) from one team to another:

   The manager traded two defensive players at the end of the season.

verb (used without object)

, trad·ed, trad·ing.

1. to carry on trade.
2. to be bought, sold, or exchanged:

   Stocks traded lower after the release of the jobs report.

3. to traffic (usually followed by in ):

   a tyrant who trades in human lives.

4. to make an exchange.
5. to make one's purchases; shop; buy.

adjective

1. of or relating to trade or commerce.
2. used by, serving, or intended for a particular trade:

   trade journal.

3. Also trades. of, composed of, or serving the members of a trade:

   a trade club.

verb phrase

1. to give (a used article) as payment to be credited toward a purchase:

   We trade in our car every three years.

2. to exchange a more valuable or desirable item for a less valuable or desirable one.
3. to exchange a less valuable or desirable item for a more valuable or desirable one.
4. to exchange something for or with another.
5. to turn to one's advantage, especially selfishly or unfairly; exploit:

   to trade on the weaknesses of others.

trade

/ treɪd /

noun

1. the act or an instance of buying and selling goods and services either on the domestic (wholesale and retail) markets or on the international (import, export, and entrepôt) markets mercantile
2. a personal occupation, esp a craft requiring skill
3. the people and practices of an industry, craft, or business
4. exchange of one thing for something else
5. the regular clientele of a firm or industry
6. amount of custom or commercial dealings; business
7. a specified market or business

   the tailoring trade

8. an occupation in commerce, as opposed to a profession
9. commercial customers, as opposed to the general public

   trade only

   trade advertising

10. slang:homosexual.
    a sexual partner or sexual partners collectively
11. archaic.
    a custom or habit

verb

1. tr to buy and sell (commercial merchandise)
2. to exchange (one thing) for another
3. intr to engage in trade
4. intr to deal or do business (with)

   we trade with them regularly

adjective

1. intended for or available only to people in industry or business

   trade prices

trade

1. Business or commerce; economic activity.

Derived Forms

• ˈtradable, adjective
• ˈtradeless, adjective

Other Words From

• trada·ble tradea·ble adjective
• tradeless adjective
• inter·trade noun verb intertraded intertrading
• non·trade noun
• non·trading adjective
• pro·trade adjective
• re·trade verb retraded retrading noun
• under·trade verb undertraded undertrading
• un·trada·ble adjective
• un·tradea·ble adjective
• un·traded adjective
• un·trading adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of trade¹

First recorded in 1300–50; 1540–50 trade fordef 6; Middle English: “course, path, track,” from Middle Low German, Middle Dutch ( Old Saxon trada ), cognate with Old High German trata; akin to tread

Word History and Origins

Origin of trade¹

C14 (in the sense: track, hence, a regular business): related to Old Saxon trada , Old High German trata track; see tread

Idioms and Phrases

• tricks of the trade

Synonym Study

Trade , commerce , traffic refer to the exchanging of commodities for other commodities or money. Trade is the general word: a brisk trade between the nations. Commerce applies to trade on a large scale and over an extensive area: international commerce. Traffic may refer to a particular kind of trade; but it usually suggests the travel, transportation, and activity associated with or incident to trade: the opium traffic; heavy traffic on the railroads. See occupation. Trade , bargain , barter , sell refer to exchange or transfer of ownership for some kind of material consideration. Trade conveys the general idea, but often means to exchange articles of more or less even value: to trade with Argentina. Bargain suggests a somewhat extended period of coming to terms: to bargain about the price of a horse. Barter applies especially to exchanging goods, wares, labor, etc., with no transfer of money for the transaction: to barter wheat for machinery. Sell implies transferring ownership, usually for a sum of money: to sell a car.

Example Sentences

The European Commission said this meant alternative classified ads services had faced "unfair trading conditions", making it harder for them to compete.

From BBC

He estimates the value of drugs traded across the prison estate each year is in excess of £1bn.

From BBC

It marked only the second time since the Rams traded for him in 2021 that they did not score a touchdown.

From Los Angeles Times

Council body Cosla and trade unions previously withdrew support, while health boards and care organisations also expressed concerns.

From BBC

The pharmacies' body, which isn’t a trade union, says 700 pharmacies have shut in England in the last two years alone - the equivalent of seven a week - because of workloads and budget cuts.

From BBC

Related Words

• business
• commerce
• contract
• deal
• enterprise
• exchange
• industry
• market
• traffic
• transaction