mercantile
Americanadjective
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of or relating to merchants or trade; commercial.
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engaged in trade or commerce.
a mercantile nation.
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Economics. of or relating to the mercantile system.
adjective
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of, relating to, or characteristic of trade or traders; commercial
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of or relating to mercantilism
Synonym Usage
See commercial.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of mercantile
1635–45; < French < Italian: pertaining to merchants, equivalent to mercant ( e ) merchant (< Latin mercant-, stem of mercāns buyer, noun use of present participle of mercārī to buy) + -ile -ile
Explanation
What do merchants want to do? Buy and sell things to make a profit. The adjective mercantile describes these kinds of efforts and goals. Many people have mercantile dreams of opening a store where they can sell things they love and interact with people in their community. Sometimes, however, the word mercantile has negative connotations. Exploiting factory workers, polluting the environment, wasting natural resources? All these reflect the dark side of the mercantile pursuit of profit.
Vocabulary lists containing mercantile
100 SAT Words Beginning with "M"
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The Federalist Papers, No. 10 by James Madison
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The Awakening
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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.
The commissioned portraits of Parsi elite "reflect the patronage networks and social aspirations of the community" which formed the mercantile fabric of the city in the early 20th century.
From BBC ● Apr. 3, 2026
"It expanded Chincha's agricultural productivity and mercantile influence, leading to exchanges of resources and power."
From Science Daily ● Mar. 7, 2026
Far from being unique or “a heroic visionary,” Columbus was a typical merchant-seafarer of his time, combining the energies of a Genoese mercantile chancer with the drive of a man who wanted to get rich.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 2, 2026
“We had three really competent engineers. They might have trained in a mercantile or other type of marine institution, but they wanted to put their skills to work for a greater cause.”
From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2025
Ma fixed pots and scythes and rakes and picks for eggs or some such, took what we needed, then traded the rest to Ralph Pitcher for store credit at the mercantile.
From "Worth" by A. LaFaye
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
