marketplace
Americannoun
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a place where a public market is held
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any centre where ideas, opinions, etc, are exchanged
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the commercial world of buying and selling
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of marketplace
Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at market, place
Explanation
A marketplace is a location where people buy goods. When you travel to a new city, you should visit a marketplace to purchase souvenirs for your friends back home. Marketplace often describes an outdoor market where vendors sell produce, meat, crafts, and other goods. Depending where you are, a marketplace might be called a bazaar, a palengke, or a souk. A more general meaning is an economic system or market, or simply the everyday world where things get bought and sold. You should probably test your new lasagna-flavored ice cream in the marketplace to see if anyone will want to buy it!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Kalshi, the online prediction marketplace, referred Santos to the Department of Justice after detecting suspicious trades made by him ahead of Trump’s Feb. 24 speech.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026
“Medicare supplement plans typically come with a $50,000 limit on lifetime coverage overseas,” said Whitney Stidom, vice president of consumer enablement at eHealth, an insurance marketplace.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 2026
In general, live-action retellings have also typically performed well overseas — a marketplace that isn’t always reliable these days.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026
A download-exclusive regime tailored to a particular company’s marketplace may be convenient for executives and some consumers.
From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2026
How can I ever walk free in the world, after the clap of those hands in the marketplace that were plainly trying to send me away?
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
Virtual marketplaces buried it, the same way audio and visual streaming services displaced the DVD and the compact disc.
From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2026
While the commission broadly backed the bill’s environmental objectives, it questioned parts of the proposal, including how ultrafast fashion would be defined, the new obligations placed on online marketplaces and the advertising ban.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026
Shoppers considering used devices should assess their current gadget, choose reputable marketplaces and check device compatibility.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 21, 2026
By then, the individual marketplaces that opened in 2014 were well established under the Affordable Care Act.
From Barron's ● Jun. 10, 2026
In recent years, economists have spent a great deal of time studying Mavens, for the obvious reason that if marketplaces depend on information, the people with the most information must be the most important.
From "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
