trade down

verb

traded down; trading down; trades down

intransitive verb

1

: to trade something in (such as an automobile) for something less expensive or valuable of its kind

2

: to stock or purchase lower-priced items : economize

Examples of trade down in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

For example, restaurant regulars who used to come in daily are now coming in once or twice a week, and returning customers are trading down on their purchases. —Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 27 Nov. 2025

Consumers will trade down and be more choiceful than ever. —David Moin, Footwear News, 24 Nov. 2025

Spencer Platt | Getty Images High-income consumers are trading down, Gen Z is spending less, and low-income shoppers are still struggling, according to many consumer companies that shared their latest quarterly results in recent weeks. —Amelia Lucas,melissa Repko,gabrielle Fonrouge, CNBC, 14 Nov. 2025

Buy the rumor, sell the news: The S&P 500 traded down about 1% this morning as the longest government shutdown in US history ended, paring gains from earlier in the week as the deal came together in Congress. —Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 14 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1905, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for trade down

• chinatown
• tumbledown
• adown
• blowdown
• breakdown
• countdown
• crackdown
• crosstown
• downtown
• drawdown
• dropdown
• facedown