marketplace
Americannoun
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a place where a public market is held
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any centre where ideas, opinions, etc, are exchanged
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the commercial world of buying and selling
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of marketplace
Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at market, place
Explanation
A marketplace is a location where people buy goods. When you travel to a new city, you should visit a marketplace to purchase souvenirs for your friends back home. Marketplace often describes an outdoor market where vendors sell produce, meat, crafts, and other goods. Depending where you are, a marketplace might be called a bazaar, a palengke, or a souk. A more general meaning is an economic system or market, or simply the everyday world where things get bought and sold. You should probably test your new lasagna-flavored ice cream in the marketplace to see if anyone will want to buy it!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
LA28’s official secondary ticket marketplace is AXS and Eventim and other verified resale platforms will include Ticketmaster and Sports Illustrated Tickets.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
The goal here would be to strengthen the yen by selling offshore holdings and to potentially bring a big buyer of Japanese government debt to the marketplace.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026
She said that Paramount and Warner Bros "will continue to operate as separate, viable companies competing in the marketplace" while legal proceedings continue.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
Right now, the legal marketplace of ideas is more or less the exclusive domain of judges, with occasional input from law professors who wish they were judges.
From Slate ● Jul. 20, 2026
He sat all day in his marketplace stall hoping to make a few rupees by writing letters for those who did not know how to write their own.
From "Homeless Bird" by Gloria Whelan
The level of competition among fashion retailers has "evolved dramatically" over the past few years, and Chinese online marketplaces Shein and Temu are now competing for Primark's customers, says Berg.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
The derivatives marketplaces alleges that perpetuals aren’t actually futures contracts but instead act as swaps under the Commodity Exchange Act, which would mean they should be subject to stricter rules and blocked from retail traders.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
State-run marketplaces may have had more tools to reach consumers, help them compare plans or provide extra financial assistance that enabled people to stay enrolled.
From Salon ● Jul. 19, 2026
Nunn's biggest concern is fraud as many people are targeted through social media platforms and online marketplaces.
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026
To Vranich, the capital’s lack of resemblance to European imperial cities extends well beyond the absence of marketplaces.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
