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black market
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noun
the illicit buying and selling of goods in violation of legal price controls, rationing, etc.
a place where such activity is carried on.
QUIZ
ARE YOU A TRUE BLUE CHAMPION OF THESE "BLUE" SYNONYMS?
We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms.
Question 1 of 8
Which of the following words describes “sky blue”?
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Origin of black market
First recorded in 1930–35
Words nearby black market
black maire, black maple, black margate, Black Maria, black mark, black market, black-marketeer, Black Mass, black matipo, black measles, black medick
Other definitions for black market (2 of 2)
black-market
[ blak-mahr-kit ]
/ ˈblækˈmɑr kɪt /
verb (used without object)
to black-marketeer.
verb (used with object)
to sell (something) in the black market.
Origin of black-market
First recorded in 1930–35; v. use of black market
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
How to use black market in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for black market
black market
noun
- any system in which goods or currencies are sold and bought illegally, esp in violation of controls or rationing
- (as modifier)black market lamb
the place where such a system operates
verb black-market
to sell (goods) on the black market
Derived forms of black market
black marketeer, nounCollins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Cultural definitions for black market
black market
The illegal buying and selling of goods above the price fixed by a government. Black markets usually develop when, because of war, disaster, or public policy, a government tries to set prices for commodities instead of allowing the normal operations of supply and demand to set prices.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.