free trade
Americannoun
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trade between countries, free from governmental restrictions or duties.
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international trade free from protective duties and subject only to such tariffs as are needed for revenue.
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the system, principles, or maintenance of such trade.
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Chiefly Scot. smuggling.
noun
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international trade that is free of such government interference as import quotas, export subsidies, protective tariffs, etc Compare protection
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archaic illicit trade; smuggling
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of free trade
First recorded in 1600–10
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.
He stood for enterprise, individual liberty and free trade, and against the tyranny of state-sponsored monopolies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
As exports plummet owing to a ban on U.S. wine and liquor, California lawmakers ask Quebec’s premier to sidestep the president, lift the prohibition and promote free trade.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 2, 2026
The private sector has repeatedly called for accelerating the implementation of AfCFTA, the continent-wide free trade area that could open up a market of nearly 1.5 billion consumers.
From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 2026
Manchester's cotton traders championed free trade and liberal economics, at the same time as the emergence of the co-operative movement, the trade unions and the Suffragettes.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
The agent poured himself a cup of free trade coffee from the wheezing pot, took a sip, and frowned.
From "Beauty Queens" by Libba Bray
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.
