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

Cycling groups, bird-watching meetups, intramural sports leagues and hiking clubs are all seeing similar bumps as Gen Z trades swipe culture for face-to-face connection. —Hanna Wickes, Miami Herald, 6 May 2026

Kyle Dubas and the front office made forward-thinking moves along the way that improved the team on the fly; the Stuart Skinner and Egor Chinakhov trades were prime examples. —Shayna Goldman, New York Times, 6 May 2026

The most popular contract was also the 35-strike, expiring May 8, where 22,000 trades occurred. —Oliver Renick, CNBC, 6 May 2026

Enforcement mechanisms, such as freezing accounts, canceling trades and clawing back profits, already exist as part of the private contract between the individual gambler and the house. —The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 4 May 2026

Removing taxes from the goods, removing income tax for people in the trades, eliminating permit fees, all components of building — will increase building activity and will allow many to participate in housing development. —Kaitlyn Schallhorn, Oc Register, 4 May 2026

Overturning Citizens United, comprehensive campaign finance reform, banning stock trades for members of Congress, their family members, and business associates, and term limits. —Kevin Fixler may 3, Idaho Statesman, 3 May 2026

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

Verb

Some analysts say Nvidia trades more like a sector than a stock. —Tobias Burns, CNBC, 6 May 2026

Every Chinese citizen, company, and organization is directed to apply those three prohibitions to Trump’s Executive Order 13902 of January 10, 2020, and Executive Order 13846 of August 6, 2018, which sanction any individual or firm that trades with the Iranian regime. —Steve H. Hanke, Fortune, 4 May 2026

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

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