trading

1. The business of buying and selling commodities, products, or services; commerce. See Synonyms at business. 2. A branch or kind of business: the women's clothing trade. 3. The people working in or associated with a business or industry: writers, editors, and other members of the publishing trade. 4. The activity or volume of buying or selling: The trade in stocks was brisk all morning. 5. An exchange of one thing for another: baseball teams making a trade of players. 6. An occupation, especially one requiring skilled labor; craft: the building trades. 7. trades The trade winds.