: an item of merchandise (such as an automobile or refrigerator) taken as payment or part payment for a purchase
traded in; trading in; trades in
1
: to turn in as payment or part payment for a purchase or bill
trade the old car in on a new one
2
Examples of trade-in in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 27 May 2026
New electric vehicles are more expensive than comparable gas models, and that’s before accounting for losses on trade-in values and other costs that come with buying a new car.
—Chris Teague, AJC.com, 15 May 2026
Ava Berger, NPR, 28 May 2026
There is a real technology opportunity to remove the operational friction—the document chase, the manual reconciliation, the rent-verification cycle that takes 30 days because the data lives in 15 places—without turning the asset into something that trades in seconds.
—Jeromee Johnson, Forbes.com, 28 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for trade-in
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Noun
One client added a trade-in page and saw 23% more repeat purchases from under-25 buyers within a quarter.
—Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 27 May 2026
New electric vehicles are more expensive than comparable gas models, and that’s before accounting for losses on trade-in values and other costs that come with buying a new car.
—Chris Teague, AJC.com, 15 May 2026
Verb
Connecticut engaged in extensive global trade in the 18th and 19th centuries, said Andy Horowitz, Connecticut's state historian.
—Ava Berger, NPR, 28 May 2026
There is a real technology opportunity to remove the operational friction—the document chase, the manual reconciliation, the rent-verification cycle that takes 30 days because the data lives in 15 places—without turning the asset into something that trades in seconds.
—Jeromee Johnson, Forbes.com, 28 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for trade-in
Cite this Entry
“Trade-in.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/trade-in. Accessed 29 May. 2026.
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