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definitions

horse-trade

[hawrs-treyd]
See more synonyms for horse-trade on Thesaurus.com
verb (used without object), horse-trad·ed, horse-trad·ing.
  1. to bargain or trade shrewdly.

Origin of horse-trade

An Americanism dating back to 1820–30

horse trade

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.

Origin of horse trade

An Americanism dating back to 1840–50
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for horse-trade

squabble, barter, dicker, bargain, wrangle, quibble, cavil, deal, palter, argue, dispute, chaffer, horse-trade

Examples from the Web for horse-trade

Contemporary Examples of horse-trade

Historical Examples of horse-trade

  • Truth, it seemed, might be absent or present in a horse-trade, but mystery was essential.

    Buying a Horse

    William Dean Howells

  • I took time to explain how I had made a raise, and about the horse-trade.

  • I can get a margin off most any man in the West on a horse-trade, but I'd look shy about doing a trade with him.

  • They both remembered that Hennard was close by at the time of the quarrel over the Horse-trade.

    Two Little Savages

    Ernest Thompson Seton

  • For there, it is said, no boy is permitted to leave home on a horse enterprise until he has cheated his father in a horse-trade.