trade route

noun

Updated on: 18 Apr 2018

Definition of trade route

1 : one of the sea-lanes ordinarily used by merchant ships

2 : a route followed by traders (as in caravans)

Recent Examples of trade route from the Web

The trade route known in Beijing as the Belt and Road Initiative has invested than $60 billion in countries participating in the transport network.

— matthias wabl, Bloomberg.com, "Record Delegation to China Has Austria Preparing New World Order," 5 Apr. 2018
The search was exhaustive: Navy cruisers scoured the trade routes, scouted the beaches, inspected remote bays.

— tim prudente, Washington Post, "Baltimore-bound USS Cyclops vanished 100 years ago. Its fate remains a mystery.," 15 Mar. 2018
The cards appear to have spread along trade routes, first to Egypt and then to Europe by the 14th century.

— gemma tarlach, Discover Magazine, "20 Things You Didn't Know About ... Diamonds," 23 Mar. 2018
Qatar has reached out to Turkey for new trade routes.

— yaroslav trofimov, WSJ, "Qatar, Cut Off From Neighbors, Remains Defiant," 15 Mar. 2018
Tens of thousands of sailors plied trade routes that reached into the Arctic, the Americas, Africa and Asia.

— dagomar degroot, Washington Post, "Some places flourished in the Little Ice Age. There are lessons for us now.," 19 Feb. 2018
The Silk Road, consisting of ancient trade routes that connected Asia, the Middle East and Africa with Europe, shaped modern American culture today.

— lauren warnecke, chicagotribune.com, "There's a fascinating story of crossing cultures at the center of 'Layla and Majnun,’ but the dance doesn’t go far enough," 17 Mar. 2018
The search was exhaustive: Navy cruisers scoured the trade routes, scouted the beaches, inspected remote bays.

— tim prudente, Washington Post, "Baltimore-bound USS Cyclops vanished 100 years ago. Its fate remains a mystery.," 15 Mar. 2018
The search was exhaustive: Navy cruisers scoured the trade routes, scouted the beaches, inspected remote bays.

— tim prudente, baltimoresun.com, "Baltimore-bound USS Cyclops vanished 100 years ago. Its fate remains a mystery," 13 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'trade route.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of trade route

1828

in the meaning defined at sense 1

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