human trafficking

noun

: organized criminal activity in which human beings are treated as possessions to be controlled and exploited (as by being forced into sex work or involuntary labor)

Examples of human trafficking in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The arrests followed a warning issued last month by federal agencies about a potential surge in human trafficking ahead of the World Cup. —Steve Maugeri, CBS News, 12 June 2026

As the centenary of the global treaty to end slavery approaches, leaders must stop viewing human trafficking as an adjacent social cause and start treating it as part of our collective human wellbeing. —Nicole F. Roberts, Forbes.com, 12 June 2026

Van Zeller, 50, has won dozens of awards for the program that has taken her around the world to report on black market activities and human trafficking. —Los Angeles Times, 11 June 2026

In some ways, Charleston was less like Boston or New York than other British centers of human trafficking—Bridgetown, Barbados, or Kingston, Jamaica, for example. —Livia Gershon, JSTOR Daily, 9 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1904, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

human trafficking

noun

: organized criminal activity in which human beings are treated as possessions to be controlled and exploited (as by being forced into prostitution or involuntary labor)

Legal Definition

human trafficking

noun

: the business of inducing a person to perform labor or engage in prostitution through force, fraud, or coercion see also labor trafficking, sex trafficking