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Glite Dictionary
to barter away

to barter away

1 5.8
To give up something valuable in exchange for something else, often as a loss
  • phrasal verb
  • /ˈbɑːrtər əˈweɪ/
translation icon : intercambiar
  • During tough times, some people feel they must barter away their values to make ends meet.

Examples

  • As previously indicated, Kyv authorities bartered away many heavy bombers to Moscow without extreme reluctance.

    Academic text (2004)

  • A man may not barter away his life, his freedom, or his substantial rights.

    Academic text (2007)

  • Who knows what precious gifts we've bartered away for a few of those white coins? "Gold, they offered," the farmer went on.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • He was forced to barter away his vintage guitar in exchange for rent money.

  • She regretted having to barter away her childhood memories just to find a better job.

Synonyms

to trade
vsto barter away
588 1.0

To give something and get something else in return

casts the transaction as giving up with a sense of loss
to exchange
vsto barter away
274 1.8

To give something and get something in return

presents the swap as an unwanted surrender rather than a neutral act
to trade in
vsto barter away
32 3.9

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

treats giving the item as involving personal loss rather than mere replacement
to barter
vsto barter away
26 3.1

To trade goods or services directly for other goods without using money

frames the swap as a lossful giving rather than a neutral deal

Antonyms

to keep
∞ 1.0

To continue doing something or stay in the same state

How Sacrificing

to sacrifice
394 3.4
to barter away
1 5.8

Surface Forms

barter away infinitive
bartered away past
bartered away past participle
bartering away present participle
barters away third person singular

Morphology

barter + away

The meaning is directly derivable from 'barter' (to trade) combined with 'away' (to transfer or give up), so a learner who knows both words would readily infer 'to trade something away' or give it up by trading. Any evaluative nuance (that it may be a loss or sacrifice) is pragmatic rather than idiomatic and does not block compositional understanding.

Etymology

Barter away comes from a market scene where you hand a valued item to someone (barter) and let it go (away) in exchange for something else. So if you 'barter away' something, you 'give it up by trading it', often with the idea that you lost something important.