Meaning & use
slave trade
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Meanings
nounusually singular
The historical practice of capturing, buying, and selling people as slaves, especially the forced shipment of Africans across the Atlantic.
Grammar: Often used with 'the', as in 'the slave trade'; it is not usually plural.
Patterns
- the slave trade
- the transatlantic slave trade
- the abolition of the slave trade
The slave trade brought millions of Africans to the Americas against their will.
Historians study the economic effects of the slave trade on both sides of the Atlantic.
The museum has an exhibition about the transatlantic slave trade.
nounusually singular
The business or activity of buying and selling people illegally or unethically, often for forced labor or sexual exploitation.
Grammar: Used to describe modern forms of human trafficking; often in phrases like 'modern slave trade'.
Patterns
- modern slave trade
- combat the slave trade
- illegal slave trade
International police are working to stop the modern slave trade.
The report exposed a slave trade in migrant workers.
Common combinations
- transatlantic slave trade
- The transatlantic slave trade lasted for over three centuries.
- abolition of the slave trade
- The abolition of the slave trade was a major political victory.
- slave trade routes
- These maps show the main slave trade routes across the ocean.
- the slave trade era
- Many songs from the slave trade era have survived.
Synonyms and how they differ
- human trafficking
- This is the modern term for the illegal movement and exploitation of people, while 'slave trade' often refers to the historical system.
- slavery
- Slavery is the condition of being owned by another person; the slave trade is the business of capturing and selling such people.
Word family
- slave trader noun
- A person who buys and sells slaves.
- slave noun
- A person who is owned by another and forced to work without pay.
Commonly confused: slave trade or slave labor?
slave trade vs slave labor
Slave labor refers to the work done by slaves, not the trading of them.
Practice
Which phrase correctly refers to the historical forced transport of Africans across the Atlantic?
Choose one answer.
'The slave trade' is the standard fixed phrase for this historical system. 'The slave business' is not used, 'the trade of slaves' is grammatically possible but not the established term, and 'the slavery trade' is not idiomatic.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “slave trade”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.