barter n : an equal exchange; "we had no money so we had to live by barter" [syn: swap, swop, trade] v : exchange goods without involving money

Barter \Bar"ter\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Bartered (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Bartering.] [OE. bartren, OF. barater, bareter, to cheat, exchange, perh. fr. Gr. ? to do, deal (well or ill), use practices or tricks, or perh. fr. Celtic; cf. Ir. brath treachery, W. brad. Cf. Barrator.] To traffic or trade, by exchanging one commodity for another, in distinction from a sale and purchase, in which money is paid for the commodities transferred; to truck.

Barter \Bar"ter\, v. t. To trade or exchange in the way of barter; to exchange (frequently for an unworthy consideration); to traffic; to truck; -- sometimes followed by away; as, to barter away goods or honor.

Barter \Bar"ter\, n.
1. The act or practice of trafficking by exchange of commodities; an exchange of goods. The spirit of huckstering and barter. --Burke.
2. The thing given in exchange. Syn: Exchange; dealing; traffic; trade; truck.

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Barter is a method of exchange by which goods or services are directly exchanged for other goods or services without using a medium of exchange, such as money. It is usually bilateral, but may be multilateral, and usually exists parallel to monetary systems in most developed countries, though to a very limited extent. Barter usually replaces money as the method of exchange in times of monetary crisis, when the currency is unstable and devalued by hyperinflation.

Contrary to popular conception, there is no evidence of a society or economy that relied primarily on barter.

While one-to-one bartering is practised between individuals and businesses on an informal basis, organized barter exchanges have developed to conduct third party bartering. The barter exchange operates as a broker and bank and each participating member has an account which is debited when purchases are made, and credited when sales are made. With the removal of one-to-one bartering, concerns over unequal exchanges are reduced.