slave trade

noun

: trafficking of enslaved people
especially, in U.S. history : the business or practice of capturing, transporting, selling, and buying enslaved African people for profit prior to the American Civil War

Examples of slave trade in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Later on, plundering Barbary pirates raided Mallorca, looting possessions, slaughtering inhabitants and capturing others for the slave trade. Norma Meyer, Oc Register, 27 May 2026 In 2001, the Taubira law made France the first country to call the slave trade, and slavery, crimes against humanity. ABC News, 27 May 2026 During a visit to Angola last month, Leo prayed at a Catholic shrine at the site of an important hub of the African slave trade during Portugal’s colonial rule. Nicole Winfield, Los Angeles Times, 25 May 2026 The man who claimed that NFL Combine is like the slave trade. Jon Root Outkick, FOXNews.com, 23 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for slave trade

Word History

First Known Use

1701, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of slave trade was in 1701

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Cite this Entry

“Slave trade.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slave%20trade. Accessed 2 Jun. 2026.

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