noun
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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
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.
It’s a deeper reflection, he suggested, of why and how these scandals keep happening within the “contemporary guru economy,” which has three elements that don’t mix well together: moral authority, celebrity culture and the marketplace.
From Salon • May 19, 2026
StubHub surged 14% after the online ticket resale marketplace swung to a first-quarter profit.
From Barron's • May 14, 2026
On Augment, a private-stock marketplace, trades of Anthropic shares tripled in the first quarter compared with the fourth, placing Anthropic at the number one spot for the first time.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 13, 2026
The company said it plans to acquire fashion marketplace Depop from Etsy for $1.2 billion in cash to reach young consumers.
From Los Angeles Times • May 12, 2026
There he was in the empty marketplace, without a cent to his name, and with not a sheep to guard through the night.
From "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho
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.
