TRAFFICKING Synonyms: 41 Similar and Opposite Words

trafficking

verb

present participle of traffic

as in dealing

to carry on the business of buying and selling goods or other property arrested him for trafficking in drugs

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 trafficking Chavez and an alleged trafficking partner, Salvador Pelayo of Chula Vista, California, have both been arrested and charged with violating the federal Lacey Act against trafficking. — Jeanine Santucci, USA Today, 20 Aug. 2026 And how police uncovered a large-scale drug-trafficking ring at Penn State. — Elizabeth Robinson, NBC news, 19 Aug. 2026 Kleg works for Breaking Free, a Minnesota group that helps people escape trafficking. — Adam Duxter, CBS News, 18 Aug. 2026 Joaquin Perez, a high-profile criminal-defense lawyer who has specialized in drug-trafficking cases for decades, came to know the Sanchez couple and their ordeal through a friend. — Jay Weaver, Miami Herald, 18 Aug. 2026 The notion is that children are both uniquely vulnerable to trafficking or other mistreatment and incapable of navigating their way through the byzantine immigration system without legal help. — Ruth Marcus, New Yorker, 15 Aug. 2026 Frank Cascio and his siblings Dominic, Marie-Nicole, and Aldo filed their trafficking lawsuit in Los Angeles federal court last February. — Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 13 Aug. 2026 The administration awarded another contract worth up to $244 million to Our Rescue, an anti-child-trafficking organization based in Sandy, Utah. — ABC News, 12 Aug. 2026 Their videos work as a modern take on the narcocorridos – ballads about the trafficking underworld that drug kingpins used to praise themselves and communicate with each other, said security expert Alexei Chévez. — Rey Rodríguez, CNN Money, 8 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for trafficking

Verb

With the help of his best friend Cliff, Robbie decides to take matters into his own hands by robbing the Dark Hearts’ drug-dealing operation in order to provide a better life for his children and to avenge his brother’s death.

— Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 21 Aug. 2026
Over the winter, Arizona considered dealing Marte to another club.

— Johnny Flores Jr, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2026

Definition of dealing

Verb

While often trading together, these companies are not the same.

— Alexa LoMonaco, CNBC, 21 Aug. 2026
The administration’s Operation Economic Fury would expand secondary sanctions on countries and companies still trading with Iran, risking fallout for allies that rely on Iranian oil as enforcement grows more aggressive.

— Farnoush Amiri, Los Angeles Times, 21 Aug. 2026

Definition of trading

Verb

Attackers can capitalize on the predilection by smuggling harmful instructions into emails or webpages the assistant is instructed to summarize.

— Dan Goodin, ArsTechnica, 20 Aug. 2026
Prosecutors said Santana was paid thousands in bribes for smuggling contraband into the facility between May 2024 and June 2025.

— Jesse Zanger, CBS News, 19 Aug. 2026

Definition of smuggling

Verb

The complaint claims the companies' products have been improperly collecting, sharing and selling personal data, like cellphone and vehicle location data.

— Dennis Valera, CBS News, 21 Aug. 2026
Off Campus followed, based on Elle Kennedy’s best-selling novel The Deal, before Disney announced The Shards, following a group of teens against the backdrop of 1980s Los Angeles.

— Connor Sturges, Condé Nast Traveler, 21 Aug. 2026