market economy

[ mahr-kit i-kon-uh-mee ]

/ ˈmɑr kɪt ɪˌkɒn ə mi /

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noun

a capitalistic economic system in which there is free competition and prices are determined by the interaction of supply and demand.

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QUIZ YOURSELF ON "WAS" VS. "WERE"!

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Question 1 of 7

“Was” is used for the indicative past tense of “to be,” and “were” is only used for the subjunctive past tense.

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Also called free mar·ket e·con·o·my [free-mahr-kit i-kon-uh-mee] /ˈfri ˈmɑr kɪt ɪˌkɒn ə mi/ .

Compare command economy.

Origin of market economy

First recorded in 1915–20

Words nearby market economy

marketable title, market abuse, market analysis, market basket, market boat, market economy, marketeer, market forces, market garden, market gardening, marketing

How to use market economy in a sentence

In cities such as Shenzhen and Fuzhou, foreign direct investment was welcomed, and many features of a market economy were introduced.
Both Asia and the West Need Stakeholder Capitalism|Klaus Schwab|August 11, 2021|Time
The market economy creates unsustainable income inequality and a wealth gap that has widened sharply during the pandemic.
Capitalism Delivered Promise, and Faced a Reckoning, in 2020|Eben Shapiro|December 20, 2020|Time
Money is easy to track, and we’re used to doing that because of the market economy.
How to Stop Feeling Crushed for Time - Issue 92: Frontiers|Brian Gallagher|October 28, 2020|Nautilus
It may be fun and it may get them paid, until oversaturation ruins our sense for irony and destroys the market for it.
Trolls and Martyrdom: Je Ne Suis Pas Charlie|Arthur Chu|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST

Paperback publishers distributed their titles in African-American neighborhoods because it expanded their market base.
How Pulp Fiction Saved Literature|Wendy Smith|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Indeed, Lion Air, with 45 percent of the domestic Indonesian airline market, has swallowed the Fernandes formula whole.
Annoying Airport Delays Might Prevent You From Becoming the Next AirAsia 8501|Clive Irving|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Expensive day care pushes women out of the labor market while men continue to work outside the home.
How Good Dads Can Change the World|Gary Barker, PhD, Michael Kaufman|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Mr. Bachner found it by wandering through the market and identified a craftsmen here who works in a tiny booth.
The Photographer Who Gave Up Manhattan for Marrakech|Liza Foreman|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
When the days were fine, Jean in his basket assisted at the dramatic performance in the market-place.
The Joyous Adventures of Aristide Pujol|William J. Locke
The declaration of war, or cessation thereof, used to be proclaimed in the market by the High Bailiff.
Showell's Dictionary of Birmingham|Thomas T. Harman and Walter Showell
He wrote on law, medical jurisprudence and political economy, and translated Justinian and Broussais.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology|Joel Munsell
I have been admonished and instructed by the systematic economy which is practiced even in great houses.
Glances at Europe|Horace Greeley
Economy with the good old soul was a cardinal virtue, waste a deadly sin.
Fifty Years of Railway Life in England, Scotland and Ireland|Joseph Tatlow

Cultural definitions for market economy

market economy

An economy in which the greater part of production, distribution, and exchange is controlled by individuals and privately owned corporations rather than by the government, and in which government interference in the market is minimal. Although a total market economy is probably only theoretically possible (because it would exclude taxation and regulation of any kind), capitalist economies approximate it and socialist economies are antithetical to it (see capitalism and socialism). Market economies are also called free economies, free markets, or free enterprise systems.