: 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
Daniel De Visé, USA Today, 21 Oct. 2025
The actress just starred in a new T-Mobile ad spot, alongside Jeff Bridges and her husband Marco Perego, for their new iPhone offer, which sees new and existing customers get a free iPhone 17 Pro with any condition device trade-in on T-Mobile’s Experience Beyond plan.
—Carly Thomas, HollywoodReporter, 21 Oct. 2025
Kurt Badenhausen, Sportico.com, 22 Oct. 2025
Intra-African trade reportedly made up just 14% of total African trade in 2024, compared to around 60% intra-regional trade for both Asia and Europe.
—semafor.com, 22 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for trade-in
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Noun
More than one in four trade-ins had negative equity in the third quarter of 2025, Edmunds reports.
—Daniel De Visé, USA Today, 21 Oct. 2025
The actress just starred in a new T-Mobile ad spot, alongside Jeff Bridges and her husband Marco Perego, for their new iPhone offer, which sees new and existing customers get a free iPhone 17 Pro with any condition device trade-in on T-Mobile’s Experience Beyond plan.
—Carly Thomas, HollywoodReporter, 21 Oct. 2025
Verb
The Boston Celtics and Cleveland Indians were publicly traded in the 1990s at major discounts to private values, and only jumped when they were taken private.
—Kurt Badenhausen, Sportico.com, 22 Oct. 2025
Intra-African trade reportedly made up just 14% of total African trade in 2024, compared to around 60% intra-regional trade for both Asia and Europe.
—semafor.com, 22 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for trade-in
Cite this Entry
“Trade-in.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/trade-in. Accessed 25 Oct. 2025.
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