Phrase guide

balance of trade

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

The difference between the monetary value of exports and imports in an economy over a certain period of time.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable, usually

Topics: business, economics, finance, sciences, trading

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

the difference in value over a period of time of a country's imports and exports of merchandise

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • a nation's balance of trade is favorable when its exports exceed its imports

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: trade balance, visible balance, trade gap

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: balance

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

27 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: balança comercial — difference between the monetary value of exports and imports in an economy over a certain period of time
  • Chinese Mandarin: 貿易差額 /贸易差额 (màoyì chā'é) — difference between the monetary value of exports and imports in an economy over a certain period of time
  • Danish: handelsbalance — difference between the monetary value of exports and imports in an economy over a certain period of time
  • Dutch: handelsbalans — difference between the monetary value of exports and imports in an economy over a certain period of time
  • Finnish: kauppatase — difference between the monetary value of exports and imports in an economy over a certain period of time
  • French: balance commerciale — difference between the monetary value of exports and imports in an economy over a certain period of time
  • Georgian: სავაჭრო ბალანსი (savač̣ro balansi) — difference between the monetary value of exports and imports in an economy over a certain period of time
  • German: Handelsbilanz — difference between the monetary value of exports and imports in an economy over a certain period of time
  • Gujarati: વ્યાપારતુલા (vyāpārtulā) — difference between the monetary value of exports and imports in an economy over a certain period of time
  • Gujarati: વેપારતુલા (vepārtulā) — difference between the monetary value of exports and imports in an economy over a certain period of time
  • Hindi: व्यापार संतुलन (vyāpār santulan) — difference between the monetary value of exports and imports in an economy over a certain period of time
  • Hindi: व्यापारतुला (vyāpārtulā) — difference between the monetary value of exports and imports in an economy over a certain period of time
  • Hungarian: kereskedelmi mérleg — difference between the monetary value of exports and imports in an economy over a certain period of time
  • Indonesian: neraca perdagangan — difference between the monetary value of exports and imports in an economy over a certain period of time
  • Indonesian: neraca ekspor-impor — difference between the monetary value of exports and imports in an economy over a certain period of time
  • Italian: bilancia commerciale — difference between the monetary value of exports and imports in an economy over a certain period of time
  • Japanese: 貿易収支 (bōeki shūshi) — difference between the monetary value of exports and imports in an economy over a certain period of time
  • Kazakh: сауда теңгерімі (sauda teñgerımı) — difference between the monetary value of exports and imports in an economy over a certain period of time
  • Malay: imbangan perdagangan — difference between the monetary value of exports and imports in an economy over a certain period of time
  • Norwegian Bokmål: handelsbalanse — difference between the monetary value of exports and imports in an economy over a certain period of time
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: handelsbalanse — difference between the monetary value of exports and imports in an economy over a certain period of time
  • Polish: bilans handlowy — difference between the monetary value of exports and imports in an economy over a certain period of time
  • Romanian: balanță comercială — difference between the monetary value of exports and imports in an economy over a certain period of time
  • Russian: торго́вый бала́нс (torgóvyj baláns) — difference between the monetary value of exports and imports in an economy over a certain period of time
  • Spanish: balanza comercial — difference between the monetary value of exports and imports in an economy over a certain period of time
  • Thai: ดุลการค้า — difference between the monetary value of exports and imports in an economy over a certain period of time
  • Ukrainian: торгове́льний бала́нс (torhovélʹnyj baláns) — difference between the monetary value of exports and imports in an economy over a certain period of time