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
At the height of the Atlantic slave trade, Africa accounted for much of the British export of gunpowder.
—
Clifton Crais, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
This early modern period would set the foundations of the rise of the transatlantic slave trade and a new form of slavery—hereditary racial slavery—that would be central to the creation of the racial-caste hierarchy and to the rise of Britain’s wealthy and brutal Caribbean slave empire.
—Literary Hub, 23 Oct. 2025
The North American slave trade stripped Africans brought from their homeland of their language and culture, but their music the drumming and dancing was soul deep.
—Kansas City Star, 22 Oct. 2025
The population also included survivors of the African slave trade who were returned to the island and brought with them diseases, including smallpox.
—Ted Powers, The Conversation, 29 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for slave trade
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.
Clifton Crais, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
This early modern period would set the foundations of the rise of the transatlantic slave trade and a new form of slavery—hereditary racial slavery—that would be central to the creation of the racial-caste hierarchy and to the rise of Britain’s wealthy and brutal Caribbean slave empire.
—Literary Hub, 23 Oct. 2025
The North American slave trade stripped Africans brought from their homeland of their language and culture, but their music the drumming and dancing was soul deep.
—Kansas City Star, 22 Oct. 2025
The population also included survivors of the African slave trade who were returned to the island and brought with them diseases, including smallpox.
—Ted Powers, The Conversation, 29 Sep. 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 30 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share