merchandise

American  

[mur-chuhn-dahyz, -dahys, mur-chuhn-dahyz] / ˈmɜr tʃənˌdaɪz, -ˌdaɪs, ˈmɜr tʃənˌdaɪz /

Sometimes merchandize

noun

1. the manufactured goods bought and sold in any business.

2. the stock of goods in a store.

3. goods, especially manufactured goods; commodities.

---

verb (used without object)

merchandises, present (3rd person singular) merchandised, past participle, past merchandising present participle

1. to carry on trade.

verb (used with object)

merchandises, present (3rd person singular) merchandised, past participle, past merchandising present participle

1. to buy and sell; deal in; trade.

2. to plan or manage the arrangement and promotion of (goods in a store).

   When you merchandise your products, promote impulse purchases by grouping like items.

merchandise British  

noun

1. commercial goods; commodities

---

verb

1. to engage in the commercial purchase and sale of (goods or services); trade

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• merchandiser
  noun
• merchandisable
  adjective
• unmerchandised
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• merchandising
  present
• merchandised
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• merchandise
  simple
• merchandises
  simple
• have merchandised
  perfect
• has merchandised
  perfect
• am merchandising
  progressive
• are merchandising
  progressive
• is merchandising
  progressive
• have been merchandising
  perfect progressive
• has been merchandising
  perfect progressive

Past

• merchandised
  simple
• had merchandised
  perfect
• was merchandising
  progressive
• were merchandising
  progressive
• had been merchandising
  perfect progressive

Future

• will merchandise
  simple
• will have merchandised
  perfect
• will be merchandising
  progressive
• will have been merchandising
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of merchandise

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English marchandise, from Old French; see merchant, -ice

Explanation

The noun merchandise refers to things that can be bought or sold, like the merchandise that's for sale at your local record shop, or the merchandise sold by sidewalk vendors in a big city. When you go into a store, you're surrounded by merchandise, whether it's food, clothing, or books. Goods that can be bought or sold are merchandise, and so are items connected with a particular movie or music group — like the t-shirts you can buy at a rock concert's merchandise booth. Merchandise is also a verb, meaning "to promote or advertise" — "Retail stores merchandise goods using displays, signs, or mannequins."

Example Sentences

Four years later, hundreds of devotees, some from as far away as eastern Europe, come to meet like-minded fans, take photos, buy merchandise and talk all things Star Wars.

From BBC • Jul. 4, 2026

McDonald’s sold red, white and blue milkshakes, Burger King offered a flag-bedecked series of glass tumblers, Disney characters wore tricorn hats for a line of park merchandise.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 1, 2026

However, general merchandise and clothing sales dropped 3.7% and its Argos unit posted a 0.5% fall in sales.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 30, 2026

Spectators used the interruption to try to dry off, chat, and shop, whether it was food, drinks, jerseys, scarves, or whatever other merchandise they could find.

From Barron's • Jun. 23, 2026

Horchow founded the Horchow Collection, a high-end mail order merchandise company.

From "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell

Related Words

• commodity
• material
• product
• stock
• stuff