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:
Caregivers can purchase coverage through the Affordable Care Act marketplace if they can afford it, or they might rely on Medicaid if they qualify.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026
“Plaintiffs’ market definitions bear no relationship to the realities of today’s marketplace and cannot withstand scrutiny.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
Lloyd’s of London called out the behavior of its former chief executive John Neal over his close workplace relationship with another senior leader at the insurance marketplace.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 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
After leaving the marketplace Naima took a shortcut, splashing through rice paddies.
From "Rickshaw Girl" by Mitali Perkins
But it has also frustrated hundreds of Russian sellers who depend on online marketplaces for their livelihoods, making the war feel closer to home after almost four and a half years.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 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
That is the steepest single-year decline since the marketplaces opened in 2014.
From Salon ● Jul. 19, 2026
Virtual marketplaces buried it, the same way audio and visual streaming services displaced the DVD and the compact disc.
From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2026
Along with the crops, they were useful commodities in the marketplaces of each city in the trade networks initially established by the Toltecs.
From "An Indigenous People’s History of the United States" by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
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.
