horse trade
noun
: negotiation accompanied by shrewd bargaining and reciprocal concessions
a political horse trade
horse trader
noun
Examples of horse trade in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The rising profile of McHenry and Emmer is likely bullish for crypto bills, as both work to convince Democrats on their committee—and their counterparts over in the Senate—to horse trade over stablecoin and market structure legislation.
—
Leo Schwartz, Fortune Crypto, 4 Oct. 2023
The blandishments McCarthy might have offered to horse trade his way to the speakership — fancy titles, perks, a fundraising appearance — meant little to those Republican holdouts who would like nothing more than to burn Washington to the ground.
—Los Angeles Times, 6 Jan. 2023
Congress, by contrast, can hold wide-ranging hearings, issue subpoenas, survey and even commission empirical research, weigh fiscal trade-offs, consider constituent popularity, balance different values and interests, horse trade, negotiate, and forge compromises.
—Ian MacDougall, Harper’s Magazine , 28 Sep. 2022
Krikorian, from the restrictionist Center for Immigration Studies, argued DACA recipients could have gotten green cards by now, if Democrats had been willing to horse trade for tougher enforcement.
—Dallas News, 18 July 2022
In the early 1960s, the bistate agency took over what was then the struggling Hudson and Manhattan Railroad as part of a horse trade between New Jersey and New York that committed the Port to build the first World Trade Center.
—Paul Berger, WSJ, 30 Nov. 2018
And Paul George finally escaped Indiana, albeit to a dark-horse trade partner in the Oklahoma City Thunder.
—Peter Dawson and [email protected], star-telegram, 13 Dec. 2017
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Leo Schwartz, Fortune Crypto, 4 Oct. 2023
The blandishments McCarthy might have offered to horse trade his way to the speakership — fancy titles, perks, a fundraising appearance — meant little to those Republican holdouts who would like nothing more than to burn Washington to the ground.
—Los Angeles Times, 6 Jan. 2023
Congress, by contrast, can hold wide-ranging hearings, issue subpoenas, survey and even commission empirical research, weigh fiscal trade-offs, consider constituent popularity, balance different values and interests, horse trade, negotiate, and forge compromises.
—Ian MacDougall, Harper’s Magazine , 28 Sep. 2022
Krikorian, from the restrictionist Center for Immigration Studies, argued DACA recipients could have gotten green cards by now, if Democrats had been willing to horse trade for tougher enforcement.
—Dallas News, 18 July 2022
In the early 1960s, the bistate agency took over what was then the struggling Hudson and Manhattan Railroad as part of a horse trade between New Jersey and New York that committed the Port to build the first World Trade Center.
—Paul Berger, WSJ, 30 Nov. 2018
And Paul George finally escaped Indiana, albeit to a dark-horse trade partner in the Oklahoma City Thunder.
—Peter Dawson and [email protected], star-telegram, 13 Dec. 2017
Cite this Entry
“Horse trade.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/horse%20trade. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
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