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
The story of resistance begins in Africa, where the slave trade itself originates.
—
Laurent Dubois, The Atlantic, 6 Jan. 2026
Black-eyed peas are native to West Africa and arrived to the US by way of the transatlantic slave trade.
—Vogue, 30 Dec. 2025
Visitors begin in the History Galleries, which start with the transatlantic slave trade and move through Emancipation, Reconstruction, Jim Crow, and the Civil Rights era.
—Lauren Dana Ellman, Travel + Leisure, 27 Dec. 2025
Peanuts, though native to the American hemisphere, were brought to Africa by Portuguese and Spanish explorers and traders, and only became popular in the United States when the slave trade brought them back.
—Hannah Goldfield, New Yorker, 20 Dec. 2025
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Laurent Dubois, The Atlantic, 6 Jan. 2026
Black-eyed peas are native to West Africa and arrived to the US by way of the transatlantic slave trade.
—Vogue, 30 Dec. 2025
Visitors begin in the History Galleries, which start with the transatlantic slave trade and move through Emancipation, Reconstruction, Jim Crow, and the Civil Rights era.
—Lauren Dana Ellman, Travel + Leisure, 27 Dec. 2025
Peanuts, though native to the American hemisphere, were brought to Africa by Portuguese and Spanish explorers and traders, and only became popular in the United States when the slave trade brought them back.
—Hannah Goldfield, New Yorker, 20 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for slave trade
Cite this Entry
“Slave trade.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slave%20trade. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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