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

But a stockpile of cap space also could facilitate trades far more easily than working solely with cap exceptions. —Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 29 Apr. 2026

As details emerge of executives profiting from stock trades just days before the news, anger and betrayal deepen, and confusion and heartbreak occur as rumors spread and questions go unanswered. —Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 28 Apr. 2026

As a result, many recent grads are rethinking the climb up the corporate ladder, with a majority considering entrepreneurship, gig work, freelance, or the trades. —Jake Angelo, Fortune, 28 Apr. 2026

Beane made trades to maximize his stash, but adding draft picks meant moving back to trawl increasingly shallow waters. —Tim Graham, New York Times, 27 Apr. 2026

Who the 49ers selected this year The 49ers made two trades Thursday to trade out of the first round and made two more Friday to add draft capital in the fourth and fifth rounds, pushing their haul of picks from six to eight to start Saturday. —Graham Womack, Sacbee.com, 26 Apr. 2026

Forget the trades and the draft picks. —Sara Vallone, Charlotte Observer, 26 Apr. 2026

However, the stock trades at a discount to the S & P 500 health care sector. —Liz Napolitano, CNBC, 22 Apr. 2026

The Chiefs have a strong track record of first-round trades. —Pete Sweeney, Kansas City Star, 22 Apr. 2026

Verb

Now trades again will matter, will have to matter. —Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 30 Apr. 2026

Some critics argue that the clean energy transition simply trades one dependency for another, shifting reliance from fossil fuels controlled by unstable actors to supply chains heavily concentrated in China. —Jennifer Granholm, semafor.com, 30 Apr. 2026

Recorded at Glendale’s UHF Studio, Davis worked closely with producer-bassist Dan Horne and guitarist John Lee Shannon, inaugurating a new songwriting partnership—one that trades the solitary melancholia of her earlier albums for something more open-ended and conversational. —Emma Madden, Pitchfork, 28 Apr. 2026

That's roughly 70% above where gold currently trades. —Alex Harring, CNBC, 27 Apr. 2026

If the Heat trades Ware this offseason, or if team brass decides that Adebayo needs a different power rotation player alongside him and Ware coming off the bench, Miami will have options in free agency. —Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 22 Apr. 2026

However, if Dallas trades back or finds a way to gain a second-round pick, several of these players would be in play. —Jon MacHota, New York Times, 15 Apr. 2026