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 illicit industry is closely involved in human trafficking, with foreign nationals employed to run romance and cryptocurrency scams, often after being recruited with false offers of legitimate jobs and then forced to work in conditions of near-slavery. —ABC News, 24 Apr. 2026

The court also ordered him to stay away from the 23rd Street corridor in Richmond at night and to complete an educational course on human trafficking and the exploitation of minors. —Jason Green, Mercury News, 23 Apr. 2026

Participants discussed narcotics trafficking, money laundering and human trafficking tied to Iranian and Syrian operations in Haiti, Nuñez said. —Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 23 Apr. 2026

Grants focused on assisting victims of human trafficking in fiscal year 2025 were only solicited in December and have yet to be awarded. —Sarah N. Lynch, CBS News, 22 Apr. 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