black market

¹ American  

noun

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

• black marketeer noun

Etymology

Origin of black market¹

First recorded in 1930–35

Origin of black-market¹

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

Example Sentences

Soon there was a black market for maple syrup.

From The Wall Street Journal

They are now in a race against time to locate the stolen jewelry before it is dismantled and sold on the black market.

From The Wall Street Journal

While the U.S. has previously targeted sanctioned oil, it is now increasingly focused on seizing ships that make up the so-called “ghost fleet” and serve the global black market for oil, the officials said.

From The Wall Street Journal

Szabo expects Venezuela's oil exports will fall by nearly half in the coming months, slashing critical foreign currency income from Venezuela's black market sales.

From Barron's

U.S. sanctions normally deter aboveboard oil traders, but a black market flourished.

From The Wall Street Journal