Meaning & use
barter
Last updated
Meanings
verbtransitive or intransitive
To swap goods or services for other goods or services, without using money.
Grammar: With an object: barter eggs for flour. Without one: barter with the neighbors.
Patterns
- barter something for something
- barter with someone
- barter for something
Farmers in the village still barter vegetables for fish.
She bartered her piano lessons for help with her taxes.
Travelers bartered with the locals for food and a place to sleep.
noununcountable
The exchange of goods or services for other goods or services, without money.
Grammar: Uncountable: barter is common here; do not say a barter, say an act of barter.
Patterns
- by barter
- a system of barter
Early societies relied on barter before coins were invented.
They settled the debt through barter, not cash.
Barter has returned in some online communities where members swap skills.
verbtransitivefigurativedisapproving
To give up something valuable, such as freedom or principles, in return for something less worthy.
Grammar: Often used with away: barter away your integrity.
Patterns
- barter something away
- barter something for something
He refused to barter away his principles for a promotion.
The council bartered public land for a small cash payment.
They accused the minister of bartering the country's interests.
Word forms
| third person | barters |
|---|---|
| past | bartered |
| past participle | bartered |
| -ing form | bartering |
Common combinations
- barter system
- Under a barter system, a haircut might be paid for with a bag of rice.
- barter goods
- Sailors would barter goods with islanders at each port.
- barter for
- She bartered for a handmade rug at the market.
- barter economy
- After the crash, the town turned into a small barter economy.
- barter away
- He had bartered away his family's farm for a few worthless promises.
Synonyms and how they differ
Word family
- barterer noun
- a person who barters
- bartering noun
- the activity of exchanging goods without money
- bartered adjective
- obtained or exchanged by barter
Commonly confused: barter or bargain?
barter vs bargain
To bargain is to discuss a price or terms, and as a noun it means a good deal, while to barter is to exchange goods without using money.
Practice
In the village market, farmers often ___ vegetables for fish instead of paying with money.
Choose one answer.
Barter means to swap goods without money, matching the pattern barter something for something. Bargain concerns negotiating a price, and borrow and bestow do not describe an exchange.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “barter”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.