: an item of merchandise (such as an automobile or refrigerator) taken as payment or part payment for a purchase
traded in; trading in; trades in
1
: to turn in as payment or part payment for a purchase or bill
trade the old car in on a new one
2
Examples of trade-in in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Alistair Charlton, WIRED, 16 Aug. 2024
Age of the trade-in determines a purchase Edmunds data also showed that a typical used car in the second quarter was 4.5 years old with 52,478 miles on it.
—Jamie L. Lareau, Detroit Free Press, 16 Aug. 2024
Fiona Embleton, Glamour, 2 Aug. 2024
Consumer discretionary stocks in the S&P 500 are down 1.7% this year, the only sector currently trading in the red.
—Bryan Mena, CNN, 15 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for trade-in 
Noun
The trade-in value represents a $20,000 or 40 percent drop from the car’s approximate retail price.
—Alistair Charlton, WIRED, 16 Aug. 2024
Age of the trade-in determines a purchase Edmunds data also showed that a typical used car in the second quarter was 4.5 years old with 52,478 miles on it.
—Jamie L. Lareau, Detroit Free Press, 16 Aug. 2024
Verb
In fact, this is the lightest Jen’s hair has been in a while, having traded in her sandy blond shade for summer 2024’s biggest color trend: butter-blond highlights, artfully woven throughout the collarbone-skimming lengths.
—Fiona Embleton, Glamour, 2 Aug. 2024
Consumer discretionary stocks in the S&P 500 are down 1.7% this year, the only sector currently trading in the red.
—Bryan Mena, CNN, 15 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for trade-in
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'trade-in.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near trade-in
Cite this Entry
“Trade-in.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/trade-in. Accessed 10 Sep. 2024.
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