barter
Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
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to exchange in trade, as one commodity for another; trade.
- Synonyms:
- traffic
-
to bargain away unwisely or dishonorably (usually followed byaway ).
bartering away his pride for material gain.
noun
-
the act or practice of bartering.
-
items or an item for bartering.
We arrived with new barter for the villagers.
verb
-
to trade (goods, services, etc) in exchange for other goods, services, etc, rather than for money
the refugees bartered for food
-
(intr) to haggle over the terms of such an exchange; bargain
noun
Synonym Usage
See trade.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
bartersimple
-
barterssimple
-
have barteredperfect
-
has barteredperfect
-
am barteringprogressive
-
are barteringprogressive
-
is barteringprogressive
-
have been barteringperfect progressive
-
has been barteringperfect progressive
Past
-
barteredsimple
-
had barteredperfect
-
was barteringprogressive
-
were barteringprogressive
-
had been barteringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of barter
1400–50; late Middle English, apparently < Anglo-French, Old French bareter, barater ( see barrator), with shift of sense
Explanation
If you make a deal with your brother to change the oil in his car in exchange for one of his video games, what you’ve just done is barter — or trade goods and services. Before money was invented, people traded goods and services in order to acquire the things they needed. An individual might trade, for example, a cow in exchange for help building a shed, or a dozen eggs in exchange for several yards of cloth. To this day people continue to barter for goods and services although this method of commerce is no longer widespread. The verb barter has survived into modern times to refer to making a transaction that involves the exchange of goods or services rather than money.
Vocabulary lists containing barter
Unit 2: Pivotal Words and Phrases
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Mesopotamia - Introductory
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Instead, they arranged to trade services through a barter system in which state-backed Chinese companies in Iran build infrastructure there as compensation for oil.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 7, 2026
Plus, it creates new headaches for companies, many of which would likely jockey for workarounds as the administration has shown a willingness to barter tariffs for other commitments, he adds.
From Barron's ● Feb. 11, 2026
These findings suggest that the pre-Inca Chincha Kingdom may have built Monte Sierpe for organized barter and trading, and that the Inca later repurposed it for accounting and tribute collection.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 10, 2025
Menendez said the position gave him access to wall phones, and used the position to help him barter or gain favors.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2025
Through barter and the generosity of a few friends, he soon owned a ragged collection of old stringed instruments—a mandolin, several guitars, an old ukulele, and two banjos.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
Luis said he then buys dollar-denominated stablecoins on overseas crypto markets, which he barters for pesos on peer-to-peer exchanges in Argentina -- all under the radar of Argentine tax and financial authorities.
From Reuters ● Jul. 25, 2023
As the creators and showrunners of HBO’s “Westworld,” based on the original film and screenplay by Michael Crichton, they were no strangers to sci-fi that barters in slippery notions of reality.
From New York Times ● Oct. 28, 2022
It’s a cerebral film that barters in riddles.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 26, 2022
“No one barters its destiny for corn cake,” Kim wrote.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 19, 2022
Life in the Fen was apparently a series of barters.
From "Gathering Blue" by Lois Lowry
Allen bartered the show for free to TV stations in exchange for a split of the revenues from selling commercials to advertisers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 2026
In a time where edgy influencers like Clavicular and HSTikkyTokky are reposted, shared, and platformed for their ability to provoke, morality is bartered for popularity.
From Slate ● May 12, 2026
But in Wisconsin, no part of a wild sturgeon can be bought, sold or bartered for.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 20, 2026
Scholars suggest that some of these human remains were bartered items or gifts, but others may have been taken away without the consent of their owners.
From BBC ● Nov. 18, 2024
But alas, I would have bartered my high estate to be plain Jill to Hamlet’s Jack.
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
When challenged whether he was coercively controlling couriers for his own ends, he said: "No, it's more of a bartering system. They want something and I want something. It goes hand in hand."
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026
In place of socializing, we’re using a parent community as a bartering platform.
From Slate ● Jan. 11, 2025
Food comes from bartering with neighbors, or outlets like 99 Cents Only.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 9, 2024
As she took to politics, he invested in the bartering franchise.
From New York Times ● Feb. 4, 2024
Emenike was one of the few people for whom “to read” did not mean “to study,” and so they would spend hours talking about books, bartering knowledge for knowledge, and playing Scrabble.
From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
