Synonyms of trades

trades 1 of 2

noun

plural of trade

1

as in exchanges

a giving or taking of one thing of value in return for another

when the other team unexpectedly offered to hand over its top pitcher for our star shortstop, our coach agreed to the trade

Synonyms & Similar Words

• exchanges
• swaps
• dealings
• trucks
• barters
• dickers
• deals
• commutations
• trade-offs
• transactions
• bargains
• quid pro quos
• substitutions
• negotiations
• replacements
• back-and-forths
• reciprocations
• horse trades
• recompenses
• logrollings
• requitals

2

as in crafts

an occupation requiring skillful use of the hands

a youth eager to learn the trade of cabinetmaking

Synonyms & Similar Words

• crafts
• arts
• skills
• handicrafts
• handcrafts
• occupations
• professions
• métiers
• vocations
• callings

3

as in professions

the activity by which one regularly makes a living

writing is my trade

Synonyms & Similar Words

• professions
• occupations
• vocations
• works
• employments
• lines
• callings
• games
• jobs
• lays
• tasks
• positions
• missions
• businesses
• livelihoods
• assignments
• places
• arts
• enterprises
• crafts
• calls
• situations
• duties
• gigs
• fields
• offices
• handicrafts
• lifeworks
• engagements
• livings
• functions
• appointments
• loads
• rackets
• métiers
• handcrafts
• billets
• posts
• berths
• workloads

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• pursuits
• hobbies
• avocations

4

as in sales

the transfer of ownership of something from one person to another for a price

the trade of all of her holdings in the company just before the stock plunged in value immediately aroused suspicions

Synonyms & Similar Words

• sales
• transactions
• deals
• purchases
• auctions
• negotiations
• bargains
• buys
• steals
• clearances
• fairs
• silent auctions
• haggles
• fire sales
• closeouts
• garage sales
• yard sales
• tag sales
• rummage sales
• jumble sales

trades

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of trade

1

as in deals

to carry on the business of buying and selling goods or other property

the U.S. agreed to trade with China

Synonyms & Similar Words

• deals
• sells
• negotiates
• exchanges
• swaps
• smuggles
• traffics
• purchases
• bargains
• auctions
• barters
• transacts
• markets
• buys
• merchandises
• supplies
• retails
• resells
• horse-trades
• fences
• wholesales
• black-markets
• invests
• corners
• distributes
• peddles
• takes
• fair-trades
• rebuys
• monopolizes
• picks up
• engrosses
• speculates
• day-trades
• vends
• undersells
• bootlegs

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• blacks
• boycotts
• blackballs

2

as in swaps

to give up (something) and take something else in return

I'll trade my chocolate chip cookie for your bag of chips

Synonyms & Similar Words

• exchanges
• swaps
• substitutes
• changes
• switches
• shifts
• replaces
• commutes
• interchanges
• supersedes
• displaces
• yields
• surrenders
• reciprocates
• hands over
• cedes

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of trades

Noun

Lillo himself was a jack of all trades — a ginseng farmer, an inventor and a metal artist for decades. —John Lauritsen, CBS News, 16 Apr. 2026

Though his player-acquiring trades have yet to move the needle, his pickup of goaltender Spencer Knight in March 2025 has been among the most prominent. —Kalen Lumpkins, Chicago Tribune, 16 Apr. 2026

Spytek said during the news conference that good trades can always materialize on draft night, sometimes even right before the pick. —Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 15 Apr. 2026

In return, the Jets acquired a first and second-round pick in this year’s draft and two first-round picks in 2027 from those trades with the Colts and Cowboys. —Antwan Staley, New York Daily News, 15 Apr. 2026

Spring training started with some big trades, including three All-Stars — Jesse Winker, Eugenio Suárez and Sonny Gray. —C. Trent Rosecrans, New York Times, 15 Apr. 2026

BlackRock is also supporting the trades with $100 million in investments. —Jake Angelo, Fortune, 14 Apr. 2026

The Securities and Exchange Commission charged Sun in 2023 with fraud over crypto trades and illicit promotion. —Rob Wile, NBC news, 14 Apr. 2026

Within a month, those details made the trades. —Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 8 Apr. 2026

Verb

The New York Jets have the most draft value of any team heading into this NFL Draft thanks largely to trades general manager Darren Mougey made at the deadline, sending away Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams for premium capital both in 2026 and 2027. —Zack Rosenblatt, New York Times, 15 Apr. 2026

Lumen trades at a lower forward price-to-free-cash-flow and price-to-sales ratio on both 2026 and 2027 estimates. —Justin Zacks, CNBC, 15 Apr. 2026

During the past three years, trades for Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Brandon Ingram and Derrick White (who wasn’t a diminished asset) required only one first-round pick (as well as other assets). —Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 10 Apr. 2026

The district met with UTLA, Associated Administrators of Los Angeles and trades representatives during spring break and reached an agreement with the Los Angeles/Orange County Building and Construction Trades Council. —Teresa Liu, Daily News, 9 Apr. 2026

In the latest sign of a trend happening around the state, a Connecticut construction company is building a complex of storage areas for small contractors and trades businesses. —Don Stacom, Hartford Courant, 8 Apr. 2026

The angry purists shrieked their response, rattling their Converse sneakers in their fists, to remind everyone that trades and free agents aren’t part of college basketball. —Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 7 Apr. 2026

This compares to Google, which currently trades at 28x, Oracle at 27x and Microsoft at 25x. —Arthur Zaczkiewicz, Footwear News, 2 Apr. 2026

Elba The largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago, low-key Elba trades hard on its Napoleonic history. —Elizabeth Heath, Travel + Leisure, 31 Mar. 2026