free market

American  

noun

1. an economic system in which prices and wages are determined by unrestricted competition between businesses, without government regulation or fear of monopolies.

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free market British  

noun

1. 1. an economic system that allows supply and demand to regulate prices, wages, etc, rather than government policy

   2. ( as modifier )

      a free-market economy

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free market Cultural  

1. The production and exchange of goods and services without interference from the government or from monopolies.

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Other Word Forms

• free marketeer noun
• free-market adjective

Example Sentences

In a free market, countries that constantly run big trade surpluses with the U.S. would be flooded with extra dollars beyond what they needed to buy imports.

From The Wall Street Journal

And that often means setting up rules and then getting out of the way and letting freedom and free markets do their magic.

From The Wall Street Journal

And while Beijing funds these developments centrally, in the US it is a messy but productive free market free for all, which means trial and error on an epic scale.

From BBC

The Editorial Board speaks for free markets and free people, the principles, if you will, marked in the watershed year of 1776 by Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of Independence and Adam Smith's “Wealth of Nations.”

From The Wall Street Journal

Heritage’s positions on free markets, immigration and other domestic issues have also evolved.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• liberalism