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trade

trade

263 3.5
People who work in a particular skilled job, like carpenters
  • noun
  • /treɪd/
translation icon : oficio
  • The carpenter specializes in the trade of building custom furniture.
  • a trade union
  • ply one's trade
  • stock-in-trade

He's an activist for the trades and for regular working people.

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Examples

  • My father earned his living in a variety of trades and retired as a journeyman electrician.

    Academic text (1990)
  • A recent strike in the cardboard container trade is being compared with that in the tanning industry.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • He's an activist for the trades and for regular working people.

  • But Walter had started in the bookselling trade late and fared even worse than she did.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • One of the most dynamic agribusiness trades in the world is the poultry industry.

    Academic text (2013)
  • In addition to the artisanal and building trades, guilds covered small shopkeepers and market vendors.

    Academic text (2008)
  • She learned the plumbing trade through an apprenticeship.

  • Many young people are encouraged to consider a trade instead of a four-year degree.

Synonyms

industry
vstrade
2.6

People and companies that make goods and provide services in the same field

is specific to a group of skilled workers, not whole business sectors
craft
vstrade
556 3.7

Skilled work done by hand, often as a job

is about people working in a named skilled job rather than the making itself
tradespeople
vstrade
1 3.4

People who do skilled manual work like electricians or plumbers

is the general name for people in a particular skilled occupation
workpeople
vstrade
3.9

People who do jobs using their hands in places like factories

is narrower and focuses on skilled occupations rather than general manual workers

Idioms

16 3.9

A job someone does or did, especially if it is not clear from what they do now

Compounds

A pair of tall towers in New York that were destroyed in the September 11, 2001 attacks

57 3.5

Buying and selling between countries without government taxes or limits

44 3.7

Giving up one thing to get something else when you must choose

trade deficit
  • Specialized
38 4.7

A country buys more from other countries than it sells to them

28 3.2

Government rules about buying and selling goods and services with other countries

An organization in Geneva that sets and enforces rules for trade between countries

17 3.6

Buying, selling, and moving people to force them to work, often from Africa to the Americas

trade secret
  • Specialized
15 3.9

Secret method or recipe a business keeps to stay ahead of other companies

An agreement from 1994 that made trade easier between the United States, Canada, and Mexico

A US agency that keeps business competition fair and protects consumers

12 2.8

A group of workers who protect rights and talk with employers about pay and work conditions

11 3.2

A way of buying and selling that gives better pay and rights to farmers and workers

11 3.0

A regular route used to carry goods between regions or countries

trade surplus
  • Specialized
11 3.5

A country sells more goods to other countries than it buys from them

trade barrier
  • Specialized
9 5.0

A government rule that limits goods from other countries, for example by charging extra tax or setting limits

8 3.0

A school where people learn practical skills like carpentry or plumbing

trade embargo
  • Formal
7 5.9

An official government order stopping trade with a country or some goods

5 3.2

An item you give to lower the price of something new like a car or phone

trade wind
  • Specialized
5 3.2

A steady wind that blows east to west near the equator in tropical regions

5 5.3

A proposed law to control trade between countries

An area in Lower Manhattan where the World Trade Center stood before 2001, now a rebuilt complex with memorials

trade balance
  • Specialized
4 3.9

The difference in value between a country's exports and imports of goods

A magazine for people who work in a certain industry that gives news and advice

2 2.9

A name a company gives to a product or service to sell it

2 3.0

A product or raw material sold in large amounts to other businesses

balance of trade
  • Specialized
2 4.4

The difference in value of goods a country sells and buys from other countries over time

An international agreement from 1947 to reduce taxes on imports and other trade barriers

1 3.8

The difference between the value of a country's imports and exports over a time period

A person who helps workers get better pay and safer jobs

A path from long ago for carrying goods between places

restraint of trade
  • Specialized
1 7.0

A rule or action that stops free competition between businesses

1 3.6

The idea and practice of workers forming groups to protect rights at work

The skills and tools someone needs for their job

carriage trade
  • Archaic
1 9.1

Rich customers who buy expensive goods, or the business that sells to them

1 4.9

A business that makes and sells fashionable clothes

trade book
  • Jargon
1 3.8

A book written and sold for the general public to read

Laws that put taxes or limits on imports to help local businesses against foreign competition

An organized effort by workers to improve pay and working conditions

A government official and office that makes and negotiates trade rules for the United States with other countries

7.1

The energy used by a 1,000-watt machine running for one hour

A person who cooks food for a living, usually in a restaurant

An agreement between companies that limits competition, often by fixing prices, and is illegal under US law

7.8

Former US law that let manufacturers require shops to sell goods at a minimum price

fair-trade agreement
  • Specialized
5.7

A deal where a maker tells stores not to sell a branded product below a fixed price

A swap of horses between people who bargain for the best deal

Equipment or skills needed to do a person's job

5.4

A pattern of rises and falls in the economy, like growth and recession

trade discount
  • Specialized
3.1

A reduction in the price shown given to a shop for buying large amounts of goods

trade edition
  • Jargon
4.0

A book sold to the public in regular bookstores

trade acceptance
  • Specialized
8.0

A written promise by a buyer to pay the seller on a set date

trade expense
  • Specialized
3.4

A cost a business has when running its normal work, like travel to meet clients

9.1

A small animal with a bushy tail that collects and hides small things

trade-last
  • Informal
9.9

A compliment you give in return for a compliment you received

7.0

An official government order that stops or limits trade between countries

A United States government office that makes and carries out the President's trade policy with other countries

How Skilled

craftsman
39 2.8
trade
263 3.5
worker
600 1.0

Surface Forms

trade singular
trades plural

Etymology

Trade comes from an old word meaning 'path' or 'way', related to tread 'to step'. That's why 'the trade' can mean the people who work in the same job, because they all follow the same work 'path'.