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PlainSpell

barter

/ˈbɑɹ.tɚ/noun, verb

barter is spelled B-A-R-T-E-R: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 1.1 times per million words in written English, the 27,150th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, barter means “An exchange of goods or services without the use of money” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of barter is barters.

How many letters and syllables are in barter?

Letters6: B-A-R-T-E-R
Syllables2 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing1.1 times per million words; the 27,150th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Rhymes with
Same letters

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is barter?

Barter appears 1.1 times per million words in written English, the 27,150th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce barter?

  • UK /ˈbɑː.(ɹ)tə(ɹ)/
  • US /ˈbɑɹ.tɚ/
  • US [ˈbɑɹ.ɾɚ]

Barter has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-barter.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with barter?

5 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as barter from its last stressed vowel (/ɑɹtəɹ/):

Spelled with the same letters in another order: barret.

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of barter

  • barters plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • bartering participle, present
  • bartered participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does barter mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

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

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

  2. 2

    The goods or services used in such an exchange.

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

verb

  1. 1

    To exchange goods or services without involving money.

    She bartered a bonsai for one of the rare books in my library.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Barter in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchtroc (exchange of goods or services), troquer (exchange goods or services without involving…)
GermanTauschhandel, Tauschgeschäft (exchange of goods or services), tauschen (exchange goods or services without involving…), Tauschware (goods or services)
Portuguesepermuta, escambo (exchange of goods or services), trocar (exchange goods or services without involving…), bem (goods or services)
Spanishtrueque (exchange of goods or services), trocar (exchange goods or services without involving…)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does barter come from?

Late Middle English, from Old French barater.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after barter