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“She completed the transaction in under two minutes.”
She finished the business exchange quickly.
An instance of buying or selling something; a business deal.
The real estate transaction was finalized yesterday.
The property sale was completed yesterday.
Online transactions have increased by 30% this year.
Online purchases and sales have grown significantly.
Commonly used in finance, e-commerce, and legal contexts.
The process of conducting business or exchanging goods/services.
The bank recorded 5,000 transactions per second.
The bank processed 5,000 financial exchanges every second.
In computing, a transaction may refer to a single operation in a database.
A communicative exchange between people, often social.
Their first transaction was a polite greeting.
Their first interaction was a courteous hello.
Less common in everyday speech; more typical in academic or psychological contexts.
Avoid using 'transaction' to describe non-business interactions in formal writing. For example, say 'conversation' instead of 'transaction' when referring to a chat.
Use 'transaction' only for business or financial exchanges unless the context clearly supports a broader meaning (e.g., 'social transaction').
From Latin *transactio(n-)*, meaning 'a driving through' or 'completion', derived from *transigere* ('to drive through, accomplish'), from *trans-* ('across') + *agere* ('to drive, act'). The financial sense emerged in the 16th century, while the general 'exchange' meaning developed later.
In formal contexts (e.g., contracts, banking), 'transaction' implies a completed action. In informal speech, it may refer to any interaction, but this usage is less precise.