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.
Before deciding to leave your job, talk to an accountant or financial adviser about income-management strategies and the expected costs of enrolling through the ACA Marketplace.
From MarketWatch • May 30, 2026
Those seeking a scout might also be living out of town or simply too busy to endlessly search rental listing sites, Craigslist, Reddit and Facebook Marketplace, and then tour properties.
From Los Angeles Times • May 21, 2026
But after our dryer broke within a week and a half of moving in, we found a new one on Facebook Marketplace.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 1, 2026
Sonny Baker has just started to tell a story about a bike he bought from someone on Facebook Marketplace and a tomahawk steak when the video call goes dead.
From BBC • Apr. 30, 2026
“Facebook Marketplace might be a good place to start, or Front Porch Forum?”
From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz
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.
