| 1. | goods given in whole or, usually, part payment of a purchase: We used our old car as a trade-in for the new one. |
| 2. | a business transaction involving a trade-in. |
| 3. | of or pertaining to the valuation of goods used in a trade-in: trade-in price. |
| 4. | of or pertaining to such a business transaction: trade-in terms. |

noun, verb, trad⋅ed, trad⋅ing, adjective | 1. | 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. |
| 2. | a purchase or sale; business deal or transaction. |
| 3. | an exchange of items, usually without payment of money. |
| 4. | any occupation pursued as a business or livelihood. |
| 5. | some line of skilled manual or mechanical work; craft: the trade of a carpenter; printer's trade. |
| 6. | people engaged in a particular line of business: a lecture of interest only to the trade. |
| 7. | market: an increase in the tourist trade. |
| 8. | a field of business activity: a magazine for the furniture trade. |
| 9. | the customers of a business establishment. |
| 10. | Informal. trade paper. |
| 11. | trades. trade wind (def. 1). |
| 12. | to buy and sell; barter; traffic in. |
| 13. | to exchange: to trade seats. |
| 14. | to carry on trade. |
| 15. | to traffic (usually fol. by in): a tyrant who trades in human lives. |
| 16. | to make an exchange. |
| 17. | to make one's purchases; shop; buy. |
| 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. |
| 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 or 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. |

trade (trād) n.
v. intr.
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. |
Business or commerce; economic activity.
trade
trade in
Give or sell an old or used item and apply the value or proceeds to a new item. For example, Some people prefer to trade in their old car to the dealer, but we feel we'll do better by simply selling it. [First half of 1900s]