barter

/ˈbɑrdər/

/ˈbɑtə/

Other forms: bartered; bartering; barters

If you make a deal with your brother to change the oil in his car in exchange for one of his video games, what you’ve just done is barter — or trade goods and services.

Before money was invented, people traded goods and services in order to acquire the things they needed. An individual might trade, for example, a cow in exchange for help building a shed, or a dozen eggs in exchange for several yards of cloth. To this day people continue to barter for goods and services although this method of commerce is no longer widespread. The verb barter has survived into modern times to refer to making a transaction that involves the exchange of goods or services rather than money.

Definitions of barter

1. verb

   exchange goods without involving money
   type of:

   change, exchange, interchange

   give to, and receive from, one another
2. noun

   an equal exchange
   “we had no money so we had to live by barter”

   synonyms: swap, swop, trade

   types:

   horse trade, horse trading

   the swapping of horses (accompanied by much bargaining)

   type of:

   exchange, interchange

   reciprocal transfer of equivalent sums of money (especially the currencies of different countries)