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to trade

to trade

291 2.3
To buy and sell goods or services as a business
  • verb
  • /treɪd/
translation icon : comerciar
  • Many investors prefer to trade stocks during market hours to maximize their profit potential.
  • trade stocks
  • trade goods
  • trade in markets

Most of the silver that's traded is traded on futures exchanges.

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Examples

  • My family was hugely benefiting by trading with the British Empire.

  • And they were going to trade in various commodities.

  • And so they rarely trade at very close prices.

  • And they trade for cheese.

  • "We make products, they make products, and we trade them" was a typical response.

    Academic text (1992)
  • Similarly, in the stock market, people trade shares of stock that companies issued in the past.

    Academic text (1992)
  • Is Europe prepared to face the challenge of trading cheap transportation for a better environment?

    Academic text (1990)
  • In this way, people participate in a big auction where they trade stock with one another.

    Academic text (1992)
  • Most of the natural gas traded in Asia is in the form of LNG.

    Academic text (2011)
  • NAFTA took effect in 1994, eliminating most tariffs on goods traded between Canada, Mexico, and the U.S.

    Academic text (2012)

Synonyms

to sell
vsto trade
1.0

To give something to someone for money

involves both sides of commercial exchange, not only the act of giving for money
to transact
vsto trade
  • Formal
9 5.1

Do business with others, especially buying, selling, or moving money

includes buying and selling goods and services more broadly
2 4.2

Buy and sell stocks to try to make a profit

applies to broader business buying and selling, not only securities

Idioms

16 3.9

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

Phrasal Verbs

32 3.9

To give something you own to a seller as part payment for a new one

To move from one owner to another when people buy or sell it

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 Big

to trade
291 2.3
trading operations
  • Specialized
1 4.4
factorage
  • Archaic
9.9
local agency
6 3.0

Surface Forms

trade infinitive
traded past
traded past participle
trading present participle
trades third person singular

Etymology

Trade comes from an old word for 'track' or 'way', linked to tread 'to step'. In business this became the word for buying and selling, so to trade is to buy and sell goods or services.