as in to negotiate
to talk over or dispute the terms of a purchase
I horse-traded with the painter: I did his tax returns, and he did my kitchen
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in negotiation
Related Words
Example Sentences
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.
Recent Examples of horse trade
Leo Schwartz, Fortune Crypto, 4 Oct. 2023
The blandishments McCarthy might have offered to horse trade his way to the speakership — fancy titles, perks, a fundraising appearance — meant little to those Republican holdouts who would like nothing more than to burn Washington to the ground.
—Los Angeles Times, 6 Jan. 2023
Congress, by contrast, can hold wide-ranging hearings, issue subpoenas, survey and even commission empirical research, weigh fiscal trade-offs, consider constituent popularity, balance different values and interests, horse trade, negotiate, and forge compromises.
—Ian MacDougall, Harper’s Magazine , 28 Sep. 2022
Krikorian, from the restrictionist Center for Immigration Studies, argued DACA recipients could have gotten green cards by now, if Democrats had been willing to horse trade for tougher enforcement.
—Dallas News, 18 July 2022
In the early 1960s, the bistate agency took over what was then the struggling Hudson and Manhattan Railroad as part of a horse trade between New Jersey and New York that committed the Port to build the first World Trade Center.
—Paul Berger, WSJ, 30 Nov. 2018
And Paul George finally escaped Indiana, albeit to a dark-horse trade partner in the Oklahoma City Thunder.
—Peter Dawson and Pdawson@star-Telegram.com, star-telegram, 13 Dec. 2017
Verb
The rising profile of McHenry and Emmer is likely bullish for crypto bills, as both work to convince Democrats on their committee—and their counterparts over in the Senate—to horse trade over stablecoin and market structure legislation.
—Leo Schwartz, Fortune Crypto, 4 Oct. 2023
The blandishments McCarthy might have offered to horse trade his way to the speakership — fancy titles, perks, a fundraising appearance — meant little to those Republican holdouts who would like nothing more than to burn Washington to the ground.
—Los Angeles Times, 6 Jan. 2023
Congress, by contrast, can hold wide-ranging hearings, issue subpoenas, survey and even commission empirical research, weigh fiscal trade-offs, consider constituent popularity, balance different values and interests, horse trade, negotiate, and forge compromises.
—Ian MacDougall, Harper’s Magazine , 28 Sep. 2022
Krikorian, from the restrictionist Center for Immigration Studies, argued DACA recipients could have gotten green cards by now, if Democrats had been willing to horse trade for tougher enforcement.
—Dallas News, 18 July 2022
In the early 1960s, the bistate agency took over what was then the struggling Hudson and Manhattan Railroad as part of a horse trade between New Jersey and New York that committed the Port to build the first World Trade Center.
—Paul Berger, WSJ, 30 Nov. 2018
And Paul George finally escaped Indiana, albeit to a dark-horse trade partner in the Oklahoma City Thunder.
—Peter Dawson and Pdawson@star-Telegram.com, star-telegram, 13 Dec. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for horse trade
Verb
-
Democrats are also trying to pin the shutdown on Republicans, blaming Trump for not negotiating in good faith.—
Kinsey Crowley,
USA Today,
3 Oct. 2025
-
During his campaign, Pacheco touted the board’s efforts to reduce drug costs for members by negotiating new agreements with healthcare companies.—
William Melhado,
Sacbee.com,
2 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Ascension Wisconsin patients insured by UnitedHealthcare are scrambling to find new doctors or rearrange their health care plans, after contract negotiations between the health system and insurer failed.—
Sarah Volpenhein,
jsonline.com,
6 Oct. 2025
-
The offer letters for Elevate’s managers of the state Growth Fund also say that the managers can earn interest off the Growth fund as part of their compensation, the audit states, but this potential financial gain was not disclosed to the IEDC during the negotiations over the Growth Fund.—
Hayleigh Colombo,
IndyStar,
6 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Standout deals on travel essentials, such as wireless earbuds and portable chargers, are about to expire.—
Isabel Garcia,
PEOPLE,
8 Oct. 2025
-
Hamas is now demanding Barghouti’s release as part of a potential Gaza ceasefire deal – a move that could reshape the Palestinian political landscape.—
Ivana Kottasová,
CNN Money,
8 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Republicans and Democrats have so far shown no signs of compromise, making a lengthy shutdown increasingly possible this year.—
Karissa Waddick,
USA Today,
7 Oct. 2025
-
In fact, the FBI recently issued a Flash alert that surfaced numerous indicators of compromise linked to these Salesforce environment attacks and warned organizations to harden defenses.—
,
FOXNews.com,
7 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
With Newsom’s signature now on AB 1340, drivers can collectively bargain and unionize, including negotiating contracts, which would set industry-wide standards, according to proponents like bill sponsors Assemblymembers Marc Berman, D-Menlo Park, and Buffy Wicks, D-Oakland.—
David Lightman,
Sacbee.com,
6 Oct. 2025
-
While major pro sports leagues feature a stable arrangement, with unionized players negotiating a CBA and collectively bargained terms exempt from antitrust scrutiny, the opposite is true in college sports.—
Michael McCann,
Sportico.com,
4 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The new settlement wasn’t improvised.—
Miquel Ros,
CNN Money,
7 Oct. 2025
-
In any settlement, those responsible for post-war Gaza face a daunting reconstruction task.—
Kevin Shalvey,
ABC News,
7 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Obviously, Quillan isn’t staying, but my understanding from talking to sources is Treliving continues to consider his options in terms of bringing in another forward.—
James Mirtle,
New York Times,
7 Oct. 2025
-
The memo, first reported by Axios, says that Congress must specifically appropriate funds for back pay, contradicting previous understandings of the law.—
Nik Popli,
Time,
7 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Democrats have pushed for concessions around the extension of health care tax credits set to expire and a rollback of recent Medicaid cuts.—
Andrew Stanton,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Oct. 2025
-
In 2022, a federal judge ordered the cruise lines Carnival, MSC SA, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian to pay more than $400 million in damages to Havana Docks, the American company that had the concession to the Havana port facilities the cruise companies used to disembark passengers between 2015-19.—
Nora Gamez Torres,
Miami Herald,
3 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Horse trade.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/horse%20trade. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share