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:
He provided input as Microsoft developed its marketplace for AI content licensing earlier this year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026
Airbnb, Inc. engages in the management and operation of an online marketplace.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 7, 2026
AXS and Eventim are LA28’s official secondary ticket marketplace, and other verified resale platforms will include Ticketmaster and Sports Illustrated Tickets.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026
Its marketplace model connects hosts and guests online or through mobile devices to book spaces.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 7, 2026
It looked as if someone had taken an ancient marketplace and squashed it together with a modern grocery store.
From "Aru Shah and the End of Time" by Roshani Chokshi
To date, most of these popular peptides have been available solely in unregulated online marketplaces.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
Intercontinental Exchange, led by founder and longtime Chief Executive Jeffrey Sprecher, has a history of making astute investments in marketplaces that are undergoing a shift toward electronic trading.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
Officials say the scammers place fake listings on social media and other online marketplaces, sometimes using artificial intelligence to make the content appear legitimate.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
"It's appalling that online marketplaces continue to fail to prevent dangerous products from reaching consumers, despite countless warnings."
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
In recent years, economists have spent a great deal of time studying Mavens, for the obvious reason that if marketplaces depend on information, the people with the most information must be the most important.
From "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell
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.
