Meaning & use
trading hub
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
a place, often a city or port, where a large amount of buying and selling takes place.
Grammar: Countable: say 'a trading hub' or 'several trading hubs'.
Patterns
- a trading hub for something
- become a trading hub
- a major trading hub
Singapore grew into a trading hub for the whole region.
For centuries the port was a busy trading hub where merchants met.
The city is now a trading hub for grain and other farm products.
nouncountablebusinessfinance
a center where a particular kind of goods or financial products are bought and sold.
Grammar: Often followed by 'for' plus the thing being traded.
Patterns
- a trading hub for oil
- an important trading hub for something
London remains a leading trading hub for foreign currency.
The exchange made the small country a trading hub for metals.
Word forms
| plural | trading hubs |
|---|
Common combinations
- a major trading hub
- Shanghai is a major trading hub for shipping goods.
- become a trading hub
- The town became a trading hub after the railway arrived.
- a regional trading hub
- Nairobi serves as a regional trading hub for East Africa.
- a global trading hub
- Hong Kong is known as a global trading hub.
- a trading hub for something
- The island is a trading hub for spices and coffee.
Synonyms and how they differ
- market
- 'Market' can mean the general activity of buying and selling, while 'trading hub' is always a place where that activity is concentrated.
- center
- 'Center' is broader and can mean any main place for an activity; 'trading hub' specifically names trade as the activity.
- entrepôt
- A formal, technical word for a port where goods are brought in and sent out again; 'trading hub' is the everyday term.
Word family
- trade noun
- the activity of buying and selling goods or services.
- trader noun
- a person who buys and sells things.
Commonly confused: trading hub or trade hub?
trading hub vs trade hub
'Trade hub' is also used and means much the same, but 'trading hub' stresses the ongoing activity of trading.
Practice
The port of Rotterdam is a major trading hub ___ oil and gas in Europe.
Choose one answer.
'A trading hub for something' is the standard pattern, showing what is traded. 'With' would suggest the hub trades together with oil, and 'to' or 'of' do not fit this noun pattern.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “trading hub”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.