transaction
Americannoun
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the act of transacting or the fact of being transacted.
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an instance or process of transacting something.
- Synonyms:
- affair, venture, enterprise, bargain, deal
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something that is transacted, especially a business agreement.
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Psychology. an interaction of an individual with one or more other persons, especially as influenced by their assumed relational roles of parent, child, or adult.
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transactions, the published records of the proceedings, as papers read, addresses delivered, or discussions, at the meetings of a learned society or the like.
noun
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something that is transacted, esp a business deal or negotiation
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the act of transacting or the state of being transacted
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(plural) the published records of the proceedings of a society, conference, etc
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(in business computing) the act of obtaining and paying for an item or service
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(in general computing) the transmission and processing of an item of data
Other Word Forms
- pretransaction noun
- transactional adjective
- transactionally adverb
Etymology
Origin of transaction
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English, from Latin trānsāctiōn- (stem of trānsāctiō ) “completion, transaction”; see transact, -ion
Explanation
A transaction is any kind of action involved in conducting business, or an interaction between people. When you go to the bank, fill out a form, and deposit your paycheck, you make a transaction. An important business deal can be called a transaction, particularly the buying or selling of goods, but you can call any exchange with another person a transaction. There are transactions involving money, ideas, and even e-mail. The Latin root transactionem describes an agreement or accomplishment. This led to a mid-15th century version of transaction that described the adjustment of a dispute.
Vocabulary lists containing transaction
Chains
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Economics
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"Say It with Flowers" and "The Journey"
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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.
What’s Next: The transaction values each TopBuild share at $505.
From Barron's • Apr. 20, 2026
The maximum cash proceeds will be capped in aggregate at 45% of the transaction consideration, the companies said.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 20, 2026
If investors were more sure of the transaction, the combined value of the company would be up more like $3 billion to $4 billion.
From Barron's • Apr. 20, 2026
Nexstar disputed that in its statement saying, “this pro competitive transaction will make local stations stronger and support continued investment in local journalism and fact-based news.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 18, 2026
The principle of double entry is simple: every transaction is entered twice, as a credit and as a debit.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
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.
