free trader

American

Or free-trader

noun

a person who advocates free trade.

free-trader British

noun

a person who supports or advocates free trade
archaic a smuggler or smuggling vessel

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of free trader

First recorded in 1690–1700; free trade + -er ¹

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.

“She’s more of a free trader than I am,” said Robert E. Lighthizer, who served as the United States Trade Representative under former President Donald J. Trump.

From New York Times • Aug. 25, 2022

Among the party’s score of contenders, here’s a prayer that one will evoke its greatest free trader, President Woodrow Wilson.

From Washington Post • Jun. 21, 2019

He is also—contrary to Trump as well as some of his rivals in the upcoming primaries, notably Sen. Bernie Sanders—an unabashed free trader.

From Slate • May 2, 2019

Mr. Gigot noted that “you said in the last debate you’re a 100% free trader but you just don’t like some of the deals that have been negotiated.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 21, 2015

Ever since the granting of its charter, close on two centuries ago, the Company has lorded it over the North, barring out the free trader, guarding jealously against competition.

From The Land of Frozen Suns by Sinclair, Bertrand W.

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023