\ ˈtrād 
\
\Definition of trade
(Entry 1 of 3)
b obsolete : dealings between persons or groups
2a : an act or instance of trading : transaction also : an exchange of property usually without use of money
b : a firm's customers : clientele
c : the group of firms engaged in a business or industry
3a : an occupation requiring manual or mechanical skill : craft
b : the business or work in which one engages regularly : occupation
c : the persons engaged in an occupation, business, or industry
4 : a customary course of action : practice thy sin's not accidental, but a trade— William Shakespeare
5 : trade wind —usually used in plural
6 : a publication intended for persons in the entertainment business
—usually used in plural
trade
verbtraded; trading
Definition of trade (Entry 2 of 3)
1 : to give one thing in exchange for another
2a : to engage in the exchange, purchase, or sale of goods
b : to make one's purchases : shop trades at his store
3 : sell sense 3
b : to engage in frequent buying and selling of (stocks, commodities, etc.) usually in search of quick profits
2 archaic : to do business with
trade on
: to take often unscrupulous advantage of : exploit traded on their influence … in securing special favors— T. C. Pease
trade
adjectiveDefinition of trade (Entry 3 of 3)
1 : of, relating to, or used in trade
2a : intended for or limited to persons in a business or industry
a trade publication trade sales
b : serving others in the same business rather than the ultimate user or consumer
a trade printing house
3 or less commonly trades : of, composed of, or representing the trades or trade unions
a trade committee
4 : having a larger softcover format than that of a mass-market paperback and usually sold only in bookstores
trade paperbacks also : of or relating to the publishing of such books
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Other Words from trade
Verb
tradable or less commonly tradeable \ ˈtrā-də-bəl \ adjective
\ adjective
Examples of trade in a Sentence
Noun
the trade between the two countries Trade accounts for half of our gross national product.
The Tigers made a few good trades this season and picked up some promising players. Verb
If you don't like your seat, I'll trade with you.
I traded seats with her halfway through the show.
He was traded to the Yankees.
They traded him to the Broncos.
I traded my pen for a pencil and kept writing.
Their firm specializes in trading bonds.
She mostly trades in stocks.
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Recent Examples on the Web: Noun The game flipped on a trade of turnovers in the second quarter.
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Kent Somers, The Arizona Republic, "Inconsistent defense and Kyler Murray's mistakes are obstacles to Cardinals playoff hopes," 25 Oct. 2020 One theory is that investors are souring on the gold trade, and hopping on the crypto bull run.
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Bernhard Warner, Fortune, "Debate night was a tamer affair, as are stock markets today," 23 Oct. 2020 Still, cow’s milk dairy is found in 98 percent of U.S. households, and milk sales are up 3 percent in 2020, according to Barbara O’Brien, president of Dairy Management Inc., a trade association.
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Washington Post, "Cows rejoice: Impossible Foods beefs up plant-based milk investment," 21 Oct. 2020 Georgia, New Jersey, South Carolina and Virginia — and a trade association representing owners and managers of rental housing in all 50 states filed a lawsuit challenging the order.
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Kate Brumback, Star Tribune, "Judge considers challenge to CDC order halting evictions," 20 Oct. 2020 China has not given way on trade, or anything else.
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Tom Mctague, The Atlantic, "Donald Trump’s Great Reveal," 20 Oct. 2020 The early purchases underscore how nations are trying to protect themselves on concerns the coronavirus will disrupt port operations and wreak havoc on global trade.
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Andrew Stuttaford, National Review, "The Capital Note: Going After Google," 20 Oct. 2020 Short said Pence's closing argument will focus on trade, economy, and the confirmation hearings of Judge Amy Coney Barrett.
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Caitlin Conant, CBS News, "2020 Daily Trail Markers: Trump says in campaign call that Fauci is a "disaster"," 19 Oct. 2020 These countries collectively owe nearly half a trillion dollars, which is more than 50% of their GDP, a heavy burden for low-income countries, according to data from the Institute of International Finance, a trade association for global banks.
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Josh Zumbrun And Yuka Hayashi, WSJ, "Coronavirus Deals a Blow to Global Battle Against Poverty," 18 Oct. 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb Would Joc Pederson want to return to a team that tried to trade him, beat him in arbitration and used him only as a platoon player?
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John Shea, SFChronicle.com, "Dodgers’ Joc Pederson heading to free agency after World Series; Giants a fit?," 26 Oct. 2020 That doesn’t mean the Heat couldn’t then turn around and trade him once the new cap calendar begins.
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Ira Winderman, sun-sentinel.com, "ASK IRA: Will it be trade now or pay later for Pat Riley?," 20 Oct. 2020 But Swisher alienated veterans by riding a motorbike in the spring training clubhouse within a week of his arrival, and his pouting over a lack of playing time late in the season accelerated efforts to trade him.
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Mark Gonzales, chicagotribune.com, "Column: The Chicago White Sox — with an outrageously talented core — must find their perfect manager. No decision in the Jerry Reinsdorf era is more important.," 18 Oct. 2020 Pat LaFontaine—the Waterford native the Wings really wanted to draft in 1983—had forced the Islanders to trade him in October 1991.
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Helene St. James, Detroit Free Press, "That time Steve Yzerman ripped Detroit Red Wings over trade rumors," 18 Oct. 2020 Anthopoulos has said that in his previous position as GM of the Blue Jays, if a player was struggling, his attitude might have been to trade him.
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Jared Diamond, WSJ, "The Rays Will Win the World Series. Even If They Lose.," 16 Oct. 2020 Ekman-Larsson and his agent set a deadline of Friday, the same day NHL free agency officially begins, for the Coyotes to trade him.
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Jose M. Romero, The Arizona Republic, "Arizona Coyotes idle on NHL Draft Day 1, GM Bill Armstrong seeks draft success on Day 2," 7 Oct. 2020 The Brewers must decide whether to keep Hader or trade him before his salary rises.
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Steve Megargee, Star Tribune, "Brewers' season-long hitting woes lead to early playoff exit," 2 Oct. 2020 Yet despite the threat of U.S. sanctions, Erdogan has refused to abandon them or trade them for an American system.
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Ania Nussbaum, Bloomberg.com, "Turkey Pushes Macron to Allow Purchase of Missile System," 25 Sep. 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective But Biden is also at risk of turning off non-Democrats: 78% of Republicans and 76% of independents are pro-trade.
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Steve Chapman, chicagotribune.com, "Column: Americans love free trade. Trump and Biden don’t.," 16 Sep. 2020 In fact, in recent decades, the Senate has tended to be less populist and more pro-trade than the House.
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Daniel Griswold, National Review, "A Timely Defense of Free Trade," 15 Sep. 2020 An intermission came in the form of Ronna Romney McDaniel, who was permitted to give a fairly anodyne Republican adoration of Trump as anti-tax and pro-trade.
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Adam Weinstein, The New Republic, "Republicans Invite America to Play the “Dear Leader” Lottery," 24 Aug. 2020 The January deal was expected to jumpstart soybean exports to China to levels exceeding pre-trade war highs.
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Grady Mcgregor, Fortune, "China wants U.S. soybeans checked for coronavirus, further complicating the trade deal with Trump," 24 June 2020 The physical components of that particular device were not trade secrets or protected by federal law from being disclosed, the court filing said.
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Chris Fuchs, NBC News, "Scientist Formerly Accused of Spying Sues Alleging FBI Agent Falsified Evidence," 11 May 2017
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'trade.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for trade
trade
nounEnglish Language Learners Definition of trade
(Entry 1 of 2)
: the activity or process of buying, selling, or exchanging goods or services
: the amount of things or services that are bought and sold : the money made by buying and selling things or services
: the act of exchanging one thing for another
trade
verbEnglish Language Learners Definition of trade (Entry 2 of 2)
: to give something to someone and receive something in return : to give something in exchange for something else
US, sports : to give (one of your players) to another team in exchange for one of their players
: to stop using (one thing) and start using another
See the full definition for trade in the English Language Learners Dictionary
trade
noun\ ˈtrād \
\Kids Definition of trade
(Entry 1 of 2)
1 : the business or work in which a person takes part regularly : occupation
2 : the business of buying and selling items : commerce
3 : an occupation requiring manual or mechanical skill : craft
4 : an act of trading : transaction
5 : the persons working in a business or industry
6 : a firm's customers
trade
verbtraded; trading
Kids Definition of trade (Entry 2 of 2)
1 : to give in exchange for something else
I'll trade my apple for your banana.
2 : to take part in the exchange, purchase, or sale of goods
Our country trades in many parts of the world.
3 : to deal regularly as a customer
Because of bad service, I don't trade there anymore.
trade
nounLegal Definition of trade
(Entry 1 of 3)
1a : the business or work in which one engages regularly
b : an occupation requiring manual or mechanical skill
c : the persons engaged in an occupation
2 : the business of buying and selling or bartering commodities
3 : an act or instance of trading also : an exchange of property usually without use of money
trade
verbtraded; trading
Legal Definition of trade (Entry 2 of 3)
1 : to engage in the exchange, purchase, or sale of goods
2 : to give one thing in exchange for another
3 : to engage in selling
1 : to give in exchange for another commodity also : to make an exchange of
2 : to engage in frequent buying and selling of (as stocks or commodities) usually in search of quick profits
trade
adjectiveLegal Definition of trade (Entry 3 of 3)
1 : of, relating to, or used in trade or in a particular trade or business
2 also trades : of, composed of, or representing the trades or labor unions
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Time Traveler for trade
The first known use of trade was in the 15th century
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