trade
Americannoun
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trades
plural
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the act or process of buying, selling, or exchanging commodities, at either wholesale or retail, within a country or between countries.
domestic trade; foreign trade.
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the act of buying, selling, or exchanging stocks, bonds, or currency.
Stock brokerages typically charge a commission per trade.
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a purchase or sale; business deal or transaction.
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an exchange of items, usually without payment of money.
- Synonyms:
- swap
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Sports. the transfer of a player or players among professional teams.
a midseason trade.
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any occupation pursued as a business or livelihood.
- Synonyms:
- craft, living, employment, métier, vocation
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some line of skilled manual or mechanical work; craft.
the trade of a carpenter; printer's trade.
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people engaged in a particular line of business.
a lecture of interest only to the trade.
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market.
an increase in the tourist trade.
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a field of business activity.
a magazine for the furniture trade.
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the customers of a business establishment.
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Informal. trade paper.
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trades. trade wind.
verb (used with object)
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trades,
present (3rd person singular)
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traded,
past participle, past
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trading
present participle
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to buy and sell; barter; traffic in.
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to exchange.
to trade seats.
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Sports. to transfer (a player under contract) from one team to another.
The manager traded two defensive players at the end of the season.
verb (used without object)
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trades,
present (3rd person singular)
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traded,
past participle, past
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trading
present participle
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to carry on trade.
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to be bought, sold, or exchanged.
Stocks traded lower after the release of the jobs report.
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to traffic (usually followed byin ).
a tyrant who trades in human lives.
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to make an exchange.
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to make one's purchases; shop; buy.
adjective
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of or relating to trade or commerce.
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used by, serving, or intended for a particular trade.
trade journal.
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Also trades. of, composed of, or serving the members of a trade.
a trade club.
verb phrase
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trade in to give (a used article) as payment to be credited toward a purchase.
We trade in our car every three years.
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trade down to exchange a more valuable or desirable item for a less valuable or desirable one.
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trade up to exchange a less valuable or desirable item for a more valuable or desirable one.
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trade off to exchange something for or with another.
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trade on / upon to turn to one's advantage, especially selfishly or unfairly; exploit.
to trade on the weaknesses of others.
noun
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the act or an instance of buying and selling goods and services either on the domestic (wholesale and retail) markets or on the international (import, export, and entrepôt) markets
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a personal occupation, esp a craft requiring skill
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the people and practices of an industry, craft, or business
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exchange of one thing for something else
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the regular clientele of a firm or industry
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amount of custom or commercial dealings; business
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a specified market or business
the tailoring trade
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an occupation in commerce, as opposed to a profession
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commercial customers, as opposed to the general public
trade only
trade advertising
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slang:homosexual a sexual partner or sexual partners collectively
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archaic a custom or habit
verb
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(tr) to buy and sell (commercial merchandise)
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to exchange (one thing) for another
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(intr) to engage in trade
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(intr) to deal or do business (with)
we trade with them regularly
adjective
Synonym Usage
Trade , commerce , traffic refer to the exchanging of commodities for other commodities or money. Trade is the general word: a brisk trade between the nations. Commerce applies to trade on a large scale and over an extensive area: international commerce. Traffic may refer to a particular kind of trade; but it usually suggests the travel, transportation, and activity associated with or incident to trade: the opium traffic; heavy traffic on the railroads. See occupation. Trade , bargain , barter , sell refer to exchange or transfer of ownership for some kind of material consideration. Trade conveys the general idea, but often means to exchange articles of more or less even value: to trade with Argentina. Bargain suggests a somewhat extended period of coming to terms: to bargain about the price of a horse. Barter applies especially to exchanging goods, wares, labor, etc., with no transfer of money for the transaction: to barter wheat for machinery. Sell implies transferring ownership, usually for a sum of money: to sell a car.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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intertradenoun
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nontradenoun
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retradeverb
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undertradeverb
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nontradingadjective
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protradeadjective
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tradableadjective
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tradeableadjective
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tradelessadjective
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untradableadjective
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untradeableadjective
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untradedadjective
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untradingadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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tradesimple
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tradessimple
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have tradedperfect
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has tradedperfect
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am tradingprogressive
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are tradingprogressive
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is tradingprogressive
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have been tradingperfect progressive
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has been tradingperfect progressive
Past
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tradedsimple
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had tradedperfect
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was tradingprogressive
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were tradingprogressive
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had been tradingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of trade
First recorded in 1300–50; 1540–50 trade for def. 6; Middle English: “course, path, track,” from Middle Low German, Middle Dutch ( Old Saxon trada ), cognate with Old High German trata; akin to tread
Explanation
When Bobby has peanut butter but wants bologna and Billy has bologna but wants peanut butter––they can make a trade. Trade also means a set of job skills––to learn a trade means to train for a certain job. The concept of trading––or bartering––forms the basis of modern civilization––it brings along division of labor, literacy, urbanization. Thinking in those terms you can see how tradespeople––those trained in trades end up essentially trading their services, with money being introduced when the barter system breaks down or becomes too complex.
Vocabulary lists containing trade
The SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 2
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Can I Work It? Words for "Job"
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
The ACT Reading Test: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 2
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
Karen Dee, chief executive of Airports UK, the trade body for the country's airports, said the move was "excellent news for the passenger".
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026
The trade position suggests an at least temporary tailwind for the economy, though analysts expect the trade balance to narrow from here as heightened trade tensions weigh on activity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
Fortunes started to change in July, as investors endured a historic reversal in the AI-fueled momentum trade.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026
That finding ruled out the possibility that finished pottery had been manufactured in the Mississippian heartland and transported south through trade.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 6, 2026
It might just be a farmer bringing wool to the village, or a peddler coming to trade his trinkets and treasures, but I didn’t want anyone to see me.
From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff
Claire dealt a smallish and seemingly fragile pitcher named Pedro Martínez to Montreal for second baseman Delino DeShields in what turned out to be one of the game’s most-lopsided trades.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
As for the quality of Venezuelan oil, it doesn’t measure up to what most American refineries are geared for and typically trades at a discount to other formulations.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
The stock trades at just 11 times the projected earnings for the next 12 months.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026
The company is expected to grow at a 70% rate, but the stock trades cheaply at less than 20 times estimated earnings per share for its next fiscal year, he noted.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026
For centuries in Europe, they had been forbidden to own land, so they had clustered in cities and towns, taking up urban trades and professions.
From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell
On Tuesday, Nvidia, the most valuable publicly traded company in the world, was on track to see its market capitalization climb above $6 trillion for the first time, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026
The stolen data included annual income and personal-loan limits of some customers, which could be sold to scammers or traded on the web.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
The foes have traded strikes since the Houthis seized all of Yemen's Red Sea coast and took control of the Bab al-Mandab strait in a lightning offensive.
From Barron's ● Oct. 3, 2026
Infected animals are generally required to remain on-farm for a minimum of 60 days, but the majority of healthy, non-infected animals can be traded.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026
Greg Lippmann had traded bonds backed by various consumer loans—auto loans, credit card loans, home equity loans—since 1991, when he had graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and taken a job at Credit Suisse.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
Season 35 of “DWTS” has already generated $5.7 million in trading volume as of Monday, Kalshi told me.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026
Shares of Option Care Health jumped 33%, to $31.17, in premarket trading.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
So, since that “Odyssey” contract was trading at 50 cents on Kalshi as of Monday afternoon, that means the market believes Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster has a 50% chance of winning.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026
Another industry where executive trading has been lopsided is energy, recently boosted by rising oil prices stemming from the war with Iran.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
I am surprised that your trading VaR stayed stable in the quarter given this level of loss, and given that I would suspect that these were trading assets.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
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.
