slave-traffic

Definition

1. Noun:
   • The illegal trade of human beings: "slave-traffic" refers to the business or practice of buying, selling, and transporting people against their will, typically for forced labor or exploitation. This term is synonymous with the modern concept of human trafficking.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The government has enacted harsh laws to combat slave-traffic in the region. (The illegal trade of people is being actively suppressed by legal measures.)
  • Historically, slave-traffic was a major source of economic wealth for certain colonial powers. (The buying and selling of slaves was a significant economic activity in the past.)

Advanced Usage

• "to engage in slave-traffic": to participate in the illegal trade of human beings.

  • The criminal organization was found guilty of engaging in slave-traffic across international borders. (They were involved in the illegal movement and sale of people.)

• "the abolition of slave-traffic": the historical movement to end the transatlantic slave trade.

  • The abolition of slave-traffic in the 19th century was a landmark achievement for human rights. (The cessation of the legal trade in enslaved people.)

Variants and Related Words

• Slave-trafficker (n): a person who engages in slave-traffic.

  • The slave-trafficker was sentenced to life in prison. (The person who buys and sells human beings.)

• Slave-trafficking (n): the act or process of engaging in slave-traffic.

  • Slave-trafficking remains a serious global problem. (The ongoing illegal trade in people.)

Synonyms

• Human trafficking: the modern term for the illegal trade of people for forced labor or sexual exploitation.
• Slave trade: the historical and contemporary practice of buying and selling human beings as property.
• People smuggling: the illegal transportation of people across borders, often for profit (though distinct from forced exploitation).

Related Idioms

• "The slave trade": a historical phrase specifically referring to the transatlantic trade of enslaved Africans from the 16th to the 19th century.
  • The slave trade devastated entire communities in West Africa. (The historical buying and selling of African people.)

Note on Usage

• "Slave-traffic" is a compound noun that is less common in modern English than "human trafficking" or "slave trade." It is often used in historical or legal contexts to describe the systematic buying and selling of enslaved individuals. The hyphenated form emphasizes the criminal nature of the activity as a "traffic" (illicit trade).