market

American  

[mahr-kit] / ˈmɑr kɪt /

noun

1. an open place or a covered building where buyers and sellers convene for the sale of goods; a marketplace.

   a farmers' market.

2. a store for the sale of food.

   a meat market.

3. a meeting of people for selling and buying.

4. the assemblage of people at such a meeting.

5. trade or traffic, especially as regards a particular commodity.

   the market in cotton.

6. a body of persons carrying on extensive transactions in a specified commodity.

   the cotton market.

7. the field of trade or business.

   the best shoes in the market.

8. demand for a commodity.

   an unprecedented market for leather.

9. a body of existing or potential buyers for specific goods or services.

   the health-food market.

10. a region in which goods and services are bought, sold, or used.

    the foreign market; the New England market.

11. current price or value.

    a rising market for shoes.

12. stock market.

---

verb (used without object)

1. to buy or sell in a market; deal.

2. to buy food and provisions for the home.

verb (used with object)

1. to advertise (something) to a target audience or for a recommended use: This movie was marketed as a horror film, rather than a drama.

   The vacation homes are marketed to retirees and other seniors.

   This movie was marketed as a horror film, rather than a drama.

2. to carry or send to market for disposal.

   to market produce every week.

3. to dispose of in a market; sell.

   Synonyms:

   peddle, merchandise, vend

idioms

1. at the market, at the prevailing price in the open market.

2. on the market, for sale; available.

   Fresh asparagus will be on the market this week.

3. in the market for, ready to buy; interested in buying.

   I'm in the market for a new car.

market British  

/ ˈmɑːkɪt /

noun

1. 1. an event or occasion, usually held at regular intervals, at which people meet for the purpose of buying and selling merchandise

   2. ( as modifier )

      market day

2. a place, such as an open space in a town, at which a market is held

3. a shop that sells a particular merchandise

   an antique market

4. business or trade in a commodity as specified

   the sugar market

5. the trading or selling opportunities provided by a particular group of people

   the foreign market

6. demand for a particular product or commodity

   there is no market for furs here

7. See stock market

8. See market price market value

9. at the current price

10. to wish to buy or acquire

11. available for purchase

12. 1. to speculate on a stock exchange

    2. to act aggressively or unscrupulously in one's own commercial interests

13. a market characterized by excess supply and thus favourable to buyers

14. a market characterized by excess demand and thus favourable to sellers

---

verb

1. (tr) to offer or produce for sale

2. (intr) to buy or deal in a market

market More Idioms  

1. see corner the market; drug on the market; flea market; in the market for; on the market; play the market; price out of the market.

---

Other Word Forms

• marketer noun
• multimarket adjective
• nonmarket noun
• premarket verb
• remarket verb (used with object)
• submarket noun
• undermarket verb (used with object)
• unmarketed adjective
• well-marketed adjective

Etymology

Origin of market

First recorded in 1100–1150; Middle English market, market(t)e, markat(t)e, late Old English market, from Vulgar Latin marcātus (assumed), from Latin mercātus “trading, traffic, market”; see origin at merchant ( def. )

Explanation

Market is both a noun and a verb that have to do with selling. Companies that successfully market potato chips make people buy a big bag at the market. Are you in the market for a new pair of jeans? That means you are looking to buy. You might be the market, or likely customers, for a certain brand. The cost of those jeans will be whatever the market can bear, meaning the most profit that can be made, either by selling fewer pairs at high cost or lots of pairs at a lower cost. But if you buy them on the so-called black market, you might get a bargain price — only to find your new jeans aren't authentic — knock-offs of the real thing.

Example Sentences

She said 70% of its revenue came from outside China, with the U.S. a major market.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 26, 2026

“What the market calls a delay is quietly turning into a permanent reshaping of supply,” Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management, wrote in a weekend note.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 26, 2026

The global tuna market is worth more than $44bn a year, according to one study.

From BBC • Apr. 26, 2026

That work focused on agave populations rather than mezcal bottles, but it reinforces the same broader issue: the market for edible agave larvae can affect both the insect and the plant it depends on.

From Science Daily • Apr. 26, 2026

How do we know the people running your CDO machine aren’t just using your enthusiasm for shorting your own market to exploit us?

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

Related Words

• advertise
• display
• retail