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black market
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Definition of black market
noun
the illicit buying and selling of goods in violation of legal price controls, rationing, etc.
a place where such activity is carried on.
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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. 2022
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.