insider trading

American  

noun

1. the illegal buying and selling of securities by persons acting on privileged information.

---

insider trading Cultural  

1. The unlawful practice of using information that comes from a source “inside” the business but is not available to the general public to trade on the stock market. This activity is prohibited by law and is policed by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

---

Discover More

In the mid-1980s, several revelations of insider trading rocked Wall Street.

Other Word Forms

• insider trader
  noun

Etymology

Origin of insider trading

First recorded in 1965–70

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

insider trading

Start with whether it amounts to insider trading.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026

Firefighters or land managers with exclusive information about a fire’s behavior or an agency’s firefighting plans could even be tempted to bet on a fire, which would be considered insider trading.

From Slate ● Jun. 30, 2026

Rep. James Comer, the Republican chair of the House Oversight Committee, last month launched an investigation into insider trading on Polymarket and Kalshi.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026

Last week, the firm announced it would ask traders who their employer is if they try to trade on markets that may be more subject to insider trading risk.

From Barron's ● Jun. 17, 2026

Paolo’s father was a real estate mogul who had been indicted for insider trading some months ago.

From "Genuine Fraud" by E. Lockhart