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Federal Trade Commission

Federal Trade Commission

12 3.9
A US agency that keeps business competition fair and protects consumers
  • proper noun
  • /ˈfɛdərəl treɪd kəˈmɪʃən/
translation icon : Comisión Federal de Comercio
  • He works for the Federal Trade Commission.
  • Federal Trade Commission (FTC)

Examples

  • The U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission routinely focus on potential harm to consumers in evaluating a prospective merger.

    Academic text (2004)
  • Debra Valentine is from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, and Konrad von Finckenstein is the head of Canada's Competition Bureau.

    Academic text (2000)
  • I am now the general counsel for the Federal Trade Commission.

    Academic text (2000)
  • It's so annoying that the Federal Trade Commission wants to give you cash to stop it.

    Blog text (33)
  • The views expressed here are those of the author and not necessarily of the Federal Trade Commission or any Commissioner.

    Academic text (2001)
  • On April 2, 2012, the Federal Trade Commission filed charges against AMG Services.

    Blog text (19)
  • You're being charged with violating Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act.

  • Advertising that promotes state lotteries is exempt from the Federal Trade Commission's "truth in advertising" regulations.

    Academic text (2004)
  • Reports of identity theft to the Federal Trade Commission more than doubled last year.

  • You can also sign up to receive email fraud alerts from the Federal Trade Commission and the National Consumers League.

Synonyms

federal agency
vsFederal Trade Commission
58 3.4

A government organization that does specific jobs for the national government, like the Environmental Protection Agency

is a particular independent U.S. agency that enforces antitrust laws and educates the public
FTC
vsFederal Trade Commission
  • US
27 4.0

A United States government agency that protects buyers and promotes fair business competition

is the full formal name and adds public education about identity theft

Surface Forms

Morphology

federal + trade + commission

The name is compositionally built from 'federal' (national government) + 'trade' (commerce) + 'commission' (a formal committee/agency), so a learner who knows those words can infer it is a government body overseeing trade. This follows a common, cross-linguistic naming pattern for agencies, so while detailed functions (e.g., antitrust enforcement) may be unknown, the general meaning is readily derivable.

Etymology

The Federal Trade Commission is named like a referee for business. 'Federal' shows it is run by the national government, 'Trade' means business, and 'Commission' means a group set up to check rules. That's why the agency watches companies and acts to 'keep business fair' and 'stop unfair practices'.