Standard Lemma guide

barter

name · noun · verb · 6 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

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • UK: /ˈbɑː.(ɹ)tə(ɹ)/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • US: bärʹtər
  • US: /ˈbɑɹ.tɚ/
  • US: [ˈbɑɹ.ɾɚ]
  • rhymes with -ɑː(ɹ)tə(ɹ)
  • CMU ARPABET: B AA1 R T ER0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

name

Meaning 1

A surname.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

An exchange of goods or services without the use of money.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable, usually

Examples

  • We had no money so we had to live by barter.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

The goods or services used in such an exchange.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable, usually

Examples

  • The man used his watch as barter to pay for his tab.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

verb

Meaning 4

To exchange goods or services without involving money.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: ambitransitive

Examples

  • She bartered a bonsai for one of the rare books in my library.
  • You may be able to barter for some of the items you need at the local market.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

an equal exchange

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • we had no money so we had to live by barter

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: swap, swop, trade

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: exchange, interchange

Narrower terms: horse trade, horse trading

6

verb

Meaning 6

exchange goods without involving money

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: exchange, change, interchange

History

Etymology

Late Middle English, from Old French barater.

Across languages

Translations

91 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Albanian: tregti — exchange of goods or services
  • Arabic: مُقَايَضَة (muqāyaḍa) — exchange of goods or services
  • Armenian: ապրանքափոխանակություն (aprankʻapʻoxanakutʻyun) — exchange of goods or services
  • Armenian: ապրանքների փոխանակություն (aprankʻneri pʻoxanakutʻyun) — exchange of goods or services
  • Bulgarian: размя́на (razmjána) — exchange of goods or services
  • Bulgarian: ба́ртер (bárter) — exchange of goods or services
  • Catalan: bescanvi — exchange of goods or services
  • Chinese Mandarin: 以物易物 (yǐwùyìwù) — exchange of goods or services
  • Chinese Mandarin: 物物交換 /物物交换 (wùwù jiāohuàn) — exchange of goods or services
  • Chinese Mandarin: 以物換物 /以物换物 (yǐwùhuànwù) — exchange of goods or services
  • Chinese Mandarin: 實物交易 /实物交易 (shíwù jiāoyì) — exchange of goods or services
  • Czech: směnný obchod — exchange of goods or services
  • Czech: výměnný obchod — exchange of goods or services
  • Czech: barterový obchod — exchange of goods or services
  • Danish: byttehandel — exchange of goods or services
  • Danish: tuskhandel — exchange of goods or services
  • Dutch: ruil — exchange of goods or services
  • Dutch: ruilhandel — exchange of goods or services
  • Finnish: vaihtokauppa — exchange of goods or services
  • French: troc — exchange of goods or services
  • Galician: troco — exchange of goods or services
  • German: Tauschhandel — exchange of goods or services
  • German: Tauschgeschäft — exchange of goods or services
  • Hungarian: csere — exchange of goods or services
  • Hungarian: cserekereskedelem — exchange of goods or services
  • Indonesian: barter — exchange of goods or services
  • Indonesian: urup — exchange of goods or services
  • Indonesian: imbal beli — exchange of goods or services
  • Irish: malairt — exchange of goods or services
  • Italian: baratto — exchange of goods or services
  • Japanese: 物々交換 (butsubutsu kōkan) — exchange of goods or services
  • Japanese: バーター (bātā) — exchange of goods or services
  • Kaurna: wakuinya — exchange of goods or services
  • Korean: 물물교환 (mulmulgyohwan) — exchange of goods or services
  • Macedonian: трампа (trampa) — exchange of goods or services
  • Malay: barter — exchange of goods or services
  • Norwegian Bokmål: byttehandel — exchange of goods or services
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: bytehandel — exchange of goods or services
  • Persian: مبادله (mobâdele) — exchange of goods or services
  • Plautdietsch: Schacha — exchange of goods or services
  • Polish: barter — exchange of goods or services
  • Portuguese: permuta — exchange of goods or services
  • Portuguese: escambo — exchange of goods or services
  • Russian: ба́ртер (bártɛr) — exchange of goods or services
  • Russian: товарообме́н (tovaroobmén) — exchange of goods or services
  • Russian: менова́я торго́вля (menovája torgóvlja) — exchange of goods or services
  • Serbo-Croatian: трампа — exchange of goods or services
  • Serbo-Croatian: trampa — exchange of goods or services
  • Slovene: blagovna menjava — exchange of goods or services
  • Spanish: trueque — exchange of goods or services
  • Swedish: byteshandel — exchange of goods or services
  • Tagalog: tuwayan — exchange of goods or services
  • Turkish: takas — exchange of goods or services
  • Yiddish: אויסבײַט (oysbayt) — exchange of goods or services
  • Chinese Mandarin: 易貨貿易 /易货贸易 (yìhuò màoyì) — goods or services
  • Finnish: vaihtokauppa — goods or services
  • German: Tauschware — goods or services
  • Portuguese: bem — goods or services
  • Albanian: ndërroj — exchange goods or services without involving money
  • Arabic: قايض — exchange goods or services without involving money
  • Armenian: ապրանքներ փոխանակել (aprankʻner pʻoxanakel) — exchange goods or services without involving money
  • Bau Bidayuh: sami' — exchange goods or services without involving money
  • Bulgarian: разменям (razmenjam) — exchange goods or services without involving money
  • Bulgarian: правя бартер — exchange goods or services without involving money
  • Chinese Mandarin: 以物易物 (yǐwùyìwù) — exchange goods or services without involving money
  • Chinese Mandarin: 物物交換 /物物交换 (wùwù jiāohuàn) — exchange goods or services without involving money
  • Chinese Mandarin: 以物換物 /以物换物 (yǐwùhuànwù) — exchange goods or services without involving money
  • Chinese Mandarin: 實物交易 /实物交易 (shíwù jiāoyì) — exchange goods or services without involving money
  • Dutch: ruilen — exchange goods or services without involving money
  • Dutch: ruilebuiten — exchange goods or services without involving money
  • Finnish: tehdä vaihtokauppa — exchange goods or services without involving money
  • Finnish: vaihtaa — exchange goods or services without involving money
  • French: troquer — exchange goods or services without involving money
  • Galician: trocar — exchange goods or services without involving money
  • German: tauschen — exchange goods or services without involving money
  • Gothic: 𐌺𐌰𐌿𐍀𐍉𐌽 (kaupōn) — exchange goods or services without involving money
  • Greek: ανταλλάσσω (antallásso) — exchange goods or services without involving money
  • Hawaiian: kūʻai — exchange goods or services without involving money
  • Hungarian: elcserél — exchange goods or services without involving money
  • Italian: barattare — exchange goods or services without involving money
  • Khmer: ដូរ (dou) — exchange goods or services without involving money
  • Māori: tauhokohoko — exchange goods or services without involving money
  • Persian: مبادله کردن (mobâdele kardan) — exchange goods or services without involving money
  • Portuguese: trocar — exchange goods or services without involving money
  • Russian: проводи́ть ба́ртерные сде́лки (provodítʹ bártɛrnyje sdélki) — exchange goods or services without involving money
  • Serbo-Croatian: trampiti — exchange goods or services without involving money
  • Slovene: menjati — exchange goods or services without involving money
  • Slovene: trgovati — exchange goods or services without involving money
  • Spanish: trocar — exchange goods or services without involving money
  • Swedish: idka byteshandel — exchange goods or services without involving money
  • Vietnamese: đổi — exchange goods or services without involving money