marketplace

American  

[mahr-kit-plays] / ˈmɑr kɪtˌpleɪs /

Or market place

noun

• marketplaces
  plural

1. an open area in a town where a market is held.

2. the commercial world; the realm of business, trade, and economics.

3. any sphere considered as a place where ideas, thoughts, artistic creations, etc., compete for recognition.

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marketplace British  

/ ˈmɑːkɪtˌpleɪs /

noun

1. a place where a public market is held

2. any centre where ideas, opinions, etc, are exchanged

3. the commercial world of buying and selling

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• marketplaces
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of marketplace

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at market, place

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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

See Examples For:

marketplace marketplaces

Online marketplace eBay, at No. 4, has a dedicated three-member technology committee within its board, said Samantha Wellington, the company’s chief legal officer and secretary.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026

“We have deactivated the certificates for the stolen items and notified marketplace partners so they can be on the lookout for rare and serialized items,” PSA said in a statement.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2026

Even the platform formerly known as Twitter is enjoying something of a renaissance, with Musk's X now the go-to social media app for Silicon Valley insiders and the main marketplace for talk about artificial intelligence.

From Barron's ● Oct. 18, 2026

“There’s a tension in the marketplace in that, even though the market is up year to date, it’s considerably cheaper versus forecasts for next year’s earnings,” Monaghan told MarketWatch on Friday.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 18, 2026

It was pure white, a hook-beaked raptor, and it was immense, larger even than the hunting eagles he’d seen with the nomads who passed through the marketplace.

From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor

PSA said it was taking measures to prevent the stolen cards from circulating through the usual venues and marketplaces while also reimbursing card owners for at least a portion of their losses.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2026

There’s an ongoing desperate scramble to find available AI chips and data-center infrastructure from cloud providers, neoclouds and a number of upstart marketplaces offering quick access to computing power.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 11, 2026

The final version excludes resale marketplaces from the definition of a speculative ticket seller.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2026

Consumer safety charity Electrical Safety First said buyers should stick to established retailers and their own websites rather than third-party sellers on online marketplaces.

From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026

He described, in his halting way, a city of whitewashed houses and tile roofs, of vines spilling over walls, of busy marketplaces and beautiful gardens.

From "The House of the Scorpion" by Nancy Farmer

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