tradecraft

noun

trade·​craft ˈtrād-ˌkraft How to pronounce tradecraft (audio)
: the techniques and procedures of espionage

Examples of tradecraft 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.
Was the mission to use tradecraft to gather intelligence, or to use money, propaganda, and violence to shape events? Keith Gessen, New Yorker, 16 July 2025 None of the incidents involved advanced zero day exploits or nation state tradecraft. Emil Sayegh, Forbes.com, 12 July 2025 Evading detection and blending into the background is DPRK tradecraft 101. Michael Barnhart, Fortune, 3 July 2025 In terms of its tradecraft, Operation Spider’s Web resembled the Israeli Mossad’s pager attack on Hezbollah last year, in which Israeli intelligence replaced Hezbollah fighters’ regular pagers with devices containing explosives. Anna Mulrine Grobe, Christian Science Monitor, 4 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for tradecraft

Word History

First Known Use

1961, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of tradecraft was in 1961

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Cite this Entry

“Tradecraft.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tradecraft. Accessed 23 Jul. 2025.

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