merchandise
Americannoun
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the manufactured goods bought and sold in any business.
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the stock of goods in a store.
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goods, especially manufactured goods; commodities.
verb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
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to buy and sell; deal in; trade.
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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.
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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merchandisesimple
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merchandisessimple
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have merchandisedperfect
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has merchandisedperfect
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am merchandisingprogressive
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are merchandisingprogressive
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is merchandisingprogressive
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have been merchandisingperfect progressive
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has been merchandisingperfect progressive
Past
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merchandisedsimple
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had merchandisedperfect
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was merchandisingprogressive
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were merchandisingprogressive
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had been merchandisingperfect progressive
Future
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."
Vocabulary lists containing merchandise
Material World: Shopping Lingo
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"Principles of Business," Vocabulary from Chapter 10
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This Week In Words: November 21–27, 2020
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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.
Trade at food and beverage retailers and at general merchandise stores were down.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 19, 2026
The pop-up event, which opened last Thursday and ran until Sunday at Mica Studios, featured props from the video, storyboards, exclusive merchandise and several photo ops for fans.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 15, 2026
“People are using more merchandise delivery than cash transfers,” said Manuel Orozco of Inter-American Dialogue, a Washington, D.C., think tank.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 12, 2026
Pop-up Scotland shops offering official merchandise can be found in the likes of Glasgow, Edinburgh and Stirling.
From BBC • Jun. 12, 2026
Wide red awnings shaded the windows where merchandise was displayed.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
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.
