merchandise
Americannoun
-
the manufactured goods bought and sold in any business.
-
the stock of goods in a store.
-
goods, especially manufactured goods; commodities.
verb (used without object)
-
merchandises,
present (3rd person singular)
-
merchandised,
past participle, past
-
merchandising
present participle
verb (used with object)
-
merchandises,
present (3rd person singular)
-
merchandised,
past participle, past
-
merchandising
present participle
-
to buy and sell; deal in; trade.
-
to plan or manage the arrangement and promotion of (goods in a store).
When you merchandise your products, promote impulse purchases by grouping like items.
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
merchandisesimple
-
merchandisessimple
-
have merchandisedperfect
-
has merchandisedperfect
-
am merchandisingprogressive
-
are merchandisingprogressive
-
is merchandisingprogressive
-
have been merchandisingperfect progressive
-
has been merchandisingperfect progressive
Past
-
merchandisedsimple
-
had merchandisedperfect
-
was merchandisingprogressive
-
were merchandisingprogressive
-
had been merchandisingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of merchandise
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English marchandise, from Old French; see merchant, -ice
Explanation
The noun merchandise refers to things that can be bought or sold, like the merchandise that's for sale at your local record shop, or the merchandise sold by sidewalk vendors in a big city. When you go into a store, you're surrounded by merchandise, whether it's food, clothing, or books. Goods that can be bought or sold are merchandise, and so are items connected with a particular movie or music group — like the t-shirts you can buy at a rock concert's merchandise booth. Merchandise is also a verb, meaning "to promote or advertise" — "Retail stores merchandise goods using displays, signs, or mannequins."
Vocabulary lists containing merchandise
Material World: Shopping Lingo
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"Principles of Business," Vocabulary from Chapter 10
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This Week In Words: November 21–27, 2020
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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:
As with age-related merchandise at the drugstore, the stories are available to anyone, but they will have special application for those who have reached what the excessively tactful used to call “a certain age.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
Fathom partnered with a mental health service, Beyond Blue, donating half of the revenue from ticket sales and merchandise.
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026
In the coastal city of Chiclayo, of which he was bishop for eight years, Leo is everywhere, his features stamped on a growing array of merchandise ahead of a planned visit on November 13.
From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026
Clarkson visited Art of Play, a high-end shop on Atlantic Avenue, on Saturday and said an employee looked at her as though she couldn’t afford its merchandise.
From Salon ● Oct. 12, 2026
And there was no Mattie; Mr. Watson, the quiet, tan, cafe au lait owner, had sole authority over the restricted merchandise.
From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
“When Salima merchandises a rack, she makes it feel like a full collection,” Mr. Cowan said.
From New York Times ● Mar. 9, 2022
“All Hail the Queen” reads the barrage of tweets, emails, taglines and signage on various merchandises including a t-shirt and a full deck of all Queen playing cards adorned with Stewart in royal regalia.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 21, 2021
She merchandises products through social media; she sells accessories for brands.
From New York Times ● Jan. 14, 2020
This courageous and unique writer never retreats into metaphysics, never merchandises the jargon of protest.
From Time Magazine Archive
Traders and procurers from up and down the coast converged on Charleston, checking the merchandises eyes and joints and spines, wary of venereal distemper and other afflictions.
From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead
He makes clear that the eventual titans of streetwear were scrappy entrepreneurs who merged graffiti, break dancing, hip-hop, punk rock and skateboarding, all gestures of rebellion they cleverly merchandised.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 3, 2026
Each shop or closet is an amalgamation of history, energy and life, merchandised for discovery.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 18, 2024
Expect to see Mandalorian tie-ins merchandised in the “Star Wars” tradition.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 20, 2019
“He’s the most merchandised figure in the world, and is the most recognized graphic figure in the history of the world,” Jilton said.
From Washington Times ● Aug. 17, 2019
Sonnets xiv MY love is strengthen'd, though more weak in seeming; I love not less, though less the show appear: That love is merchandised whose rich esteeming The owner's tongue doth publish everywhere.
From Bulchevy's Book of English Verse by Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch
“Bulls argued its data-driven merchandising, supply-chain capabilities, and speed to market remain structurally differentiated,” they wrote.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
Those that can’t pivot to more popular merchandising themes are shutting down.
From Salon ● Sep. 9, 2026
Cara Sylvester, Target’s chief merchandising officer, said on the media call that those changes represented the biggest reset of its dry-grocery section in more than a decade.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 19, 2026
If you want to put a merchandising spin on it, it's the highest fee for a player in that position at that age, and all those things come into play.
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026
The poison of greed was already creeping into the innocent and laudable merchandising agreement.
From "Cannery Row" by John Steinbeck
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