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the definition of trade

–noun

the act or process of buying, selling, or exchanging commodities, at either wholesale or retail, within a country or between countries: domestic trade; foreign trade.

a purchase or sale; business deal or transaction.

an exchange of items, usually without payment of money.

any occupation pursued as a business or livelihood.

some line of skilled manual or mechanical work; craft: the trade of a carpenter; printer's trade.

people engaged in a particular line of business: a lecture of interest only to the trade.

market: an increase in the tourist trade.

a field of business activity: a magazine for the furniture trade.

the customers of a business establishment.

–verb (used with object)

12.

to buy and sell; barter; traffic in.

13.

to exchange: to trade seats.

–verb (used without object)

15.

to traffic (usually fol. by in): a tyrant who trades in human lives.

17.

to make one's purchases; shop; buy.

–adjective

18.

of or pertaining to trade or commerce.

19.

used by, serving, or intended for a particular trade: trade journal.

20.

Also, trades. of, composed of, or serving the members of a trade: a trade club.

—Verb phrases

21.

trade down, to exchange a more valuable or desirable item for a less valuable or desirable one.

22.

trade in, to give (a used article) as payment to be credited toward a purchase: We trade in our car every three years.

23.

trade off, to exchange something for or with another.

24.

trade on/upon, to turn to one's advantage, esp. selfishly or unfairly; exploit: to trade on the weaknesses of others.

25.

trade up, to exchange a less valuable or desirable item for a more valuable or desirable one.

Origin:
1300–50; 1540–50 for def. 4; ME: course, path, track < MLG, MD (OS trada), c. OHG trata; akin to tread

—Related forms

trad·a·ble, trade·a·ble, adjective

tradeless, adjective

in·ter·trade, noun, verb,-trad·ed, -trad·ing.

non·trade, noun

non·trad·ing, adjective

pro·trade, adjective

re·trade, verb,-trad·ed, -trad·ing, noun

un·der·trade, verb,-trad·ed, -trad·ing.

un·trad·a·ble, adjective

un·trade·a·ble, adjective

un·trad·ed, adjective

un·trad·ing, adjective

—Synonyms
1. business, barter, dealing. Trade, commerce, traffic refer to the exchanging of commodities for other commodities or money. Trade is the general word: a brisk trade between the nations. Commerce applies to trade on a large scale and over an extensive area: international commerce. Traffic may refer to a particular kind of trade; but it usually suggests the travel, transportation, and activity associated with or incident to trade: the opium traffic; heavy traffic on the railroads. 3. swap. 4. vocation, métier, employment, living, craft. See occupation. 12. Trade, bargain, barter, sell refer to exchange or transfer of ownership for some kind of material consideration. Trade conveys the general idea, but often means to exchange articles of more or less even value: to trade with Argentina. Bargain suggests a somewhat extended period of coming to terms: to bargain about the price of a horse. Barter applies esp. to exchanging goods, wares, labor, etc., with no transfer of money for the transaction: to barter wheat for machinery. Sell implies transferring ownership, usually for a sum of money: to sell a car.

World English Dictionary

trade (treɪd)

—n
   1.   the act or an instance of buying and selling goods and services either on the domestic (wholesale and retail) markets or on the international (import, export, and entrepôt) markets Related: mercantile
   2.   a personal occupation, esp a craft requiring skill
   3.   the people and practices of an industry, craft, or business
   4.   exchange of one thing for something else
   5.   the regular clientele of a firm or industry
   6.   amount of custom or commercial dealings; business
   7.   a specified market or business: the tailoring trade
   8.   an occupation in commerce, as opposed to a profession
   9.   commercial customers, as opposed to the general public: trade only; trade advertising
  10.  homosexual slang a sexual partner or sexual partners collectively
  11.  archaic a custom or habit

—vb
  12.  (tr) to buy and sell (commercial merchandise)
  13.  to exchange (one thing) for another
  14.  (intr) to engage in trade
  15.  (intr) to deal or do business (with): we trade with them regularly

—adj
16. intended for or available only to people in industry or business: trade prices
Related: mercantile

[C14 (in the sense: track, hence, a regular business): related to Old Saxon trada, Old High German trata track; see tread]

'tradable

—adj

'tradeless

—adj

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source

trade (trād)

The business of buying and selling commodities; commerce. See Synonyms at business.
The people working in or associated with a business or industry: a textile-exporting publication for the trade.
The customers of a specified business or industry; clientele.
The act or an instance of buying or selling; transaction.
An exchange of one thing for another.
An occupation, especially one requiring skilled labor; craft: the building trades, including carpentry, masonry, plumbing, and electrical installation.
The trade winds. Often used in the plural with the.

v. trad·ed, trad·ing, trades

v. intr.

To engage in buying and selling for profit.
To make an exchange of one thing for another.
To be offered for sale: Stocks traded at lower prices this morning.
To shop or buy regularly: trades at the local supermarket.

v. tr.

To give in exchange for something else: trade farm products for manufactured goods; will trade my ticket for yours.
To buy and sell (stock, for example).
To pass back and forth: We traded jokes.

adj.

Of or relating to trade or commerce.
Relating to, used by, or serving a particular trade: a trade magazine.
Of or relating to books that are primarily published to be sold commercially, as in bookstores.

Phrasal Verb(s):
trade downTo trade something in for something else of lower value or price: bought a new, smaller car, trading the old one down for economy.
trade inTo surrender or sell (an old or used item), using the proceeds as partial payment on a new purchase.
trade onTo put to calculated and often unscrupulous advantage; exploit: children of celebrities who trade on their family names.
trade upTo trade something in for something else of greater value or price: The value of our house soared, enabling us to trade up to a larger place.

[Middle English, course, from Middle Low German.]
trad'a·ble, trade'a·ble adj.

Word Origin & History

trade

late 14c., "path, track, course of action," introduced by the Hanse merchants, from M.Du. or M.L.G. trade "track, course" (probably originally of a trading ship), cognate with O.E. tredan (see tread). Sense of "one's habitual business" (1540s) developed from the notion of "way, course, manner of life" (mid-15c.); sense of "buying and selling" is first recorded 1550s. Trade wind (1640s) has nothing to do with commerce, but preserves the obsolete sense of "in a habitual or regular course." Trademark first attested 1838; in figurative sense, 1873. Trade union is attested from 1831.

trade

1548, "to tread a path," from trade (n.). Meaning "to occupy oneself (in something)" is recorded from 1606. The U.S. sports team sense of "to exchange one player for another" is attested from 1899. To trade down is attested from 1942. Trade-in in ref. to used cars is recorded from 1917; trade-off "sacrifice of one benefit for another" is attested from 1961. Trading post is recorded from 1796.

Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: trade
Function: noun
1 a : the business or work in which one engages regularly b : an occupation requiring manual or mechanical skill c : the persons engaged in an occupation
2 : the business of buying and selling or bartering commodities
3 : an act or instance of trading; also : an exchange of property usually without use of money

Main Entry: trade
Function: verb
Inflected Forms: trad·ed; trad·ing
intransitive verb 1 : to engage in the exchange, purchase, or sale of goods
2 : to give one thing in exchange for another
3 : to engage in selling transitive verb 1 : to give in exchange for another commodity; also : to make an exchange of
2 : to engage in frequent buying and selling of (as stocks or commodities) usually in search of quick profits —trad·able also trade·able adjective

Main Entry: trade
Function: adjective
1 : of, relating to, or used in trade or in a particular trade or business
2 also trades : of, composed of, or representing the trades or labor unions

Cultural Dictionary

trade definition

Business or commerce; economic activity.