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• black market
  black market

  noun

  the illicit buying and selling of goods in violation of legal price controls, rationing, etc.
• black-market
  black-market

  verb (used without object)

  to black-marketeer.

black market

¹ American  

noun

black markets plural

1. the illicit buying and selling of goods in violation of legal price controls, rationing, etc.

2. a place where such activity is carried on.

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black-market ² American  

[blak-mahr-kit] / ˈblækˈmɑr kɪt /

verb (used without object)

1. to black-marketeer.

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verb (used with object)

1. to sell (something) in the black market.

black market British  

noun

1. 1. any system in which goods or currencies are sold and bought illegally, esp in violation of controls or rationing

   2. ( as modifier )

      black market lamb

2. the place where such a system operates

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verb

1. to sell (goods) on the black market

black market Cultural  

1. 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.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• black marketeer
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• black markets
  plural

Etymology

Origin of black market¹

First recorded in 1930–35

Origin of black-market²

First recorded in 1930–35; v. use of black market

Example Sentences

California’s Assembly Bill 1127 does not explicitly name the Glock brand, but instead targets any handgun with a specific mechanism that can easily be converted by a black market device.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 1, 2026

Crimea now has regular air-raid alerts, power outages and a gasoline black market with a going rate of as much as $25 a gallon.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 28, 2026

In an April social media post, Kennedy criticized the FDA’s failure to approve more peptides—for “driving a dangerous black market that puts Americans at risk.”

From Barron's • Jun. 16, 2026

Sophie Stuchfield, a driving instructor from Watford, tells the BBC the black market has taken advantage of the demand for earlier test slots.

From BBC • May 16, 2026

He had been trying to organize a Kitchen Workers’ Union and had recently charged the camp’s chief steward, a Caucasian, with stealing sugar and meat from the warehouses to sell on the black market.

From "Farewell to Manzanar" by Jeanne Houston