marketplace

American  

[mahr-kit-pleys] / ˈmɑr kɪtˌpleɪs /

Or market place

noun

marketplaces plural

1. an open area in a town where a market is held.

2. the commercial world; the realm of business, trade, and economics.

3. any sphere considered as a place where ideas, thoughts, artistic creations, etc., compete for recognition.

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marketplace British  

/ ˈmɑːkɪtˌpleɪs /

noun

1. a place where a public market is held

2. any centre where ideas, opinions, etc, are exchanged

3. the commercial world of buying and selling

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• marketplaces
  plural

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

StubHub surged 14% after the online ticket resale marketplace swung to a first-quarter profit.

From Barron's • May 14, 2026

Chief Executive Eric Baker cited healthy trends in live events and its resale marketplace.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 13, 2026

Rising demand for tickets has spurred a secondary resale marketplace for all kinds of high-profile live events, including music tours and sports games, making it harder to get tickets on the primary market.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 6, 2026

The 10 black plastic bags had arrived in September at a 500,000-square-foot building in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, where The RealReal, a luxury resale marketplace, operates one of four authentication centers.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 24, 2022

Richard Branson-backed resale marketplace Tradesy, which raised $67 million in a funding round earlier this year, expects shortages of new apparel to translate into strong holiday sales.

From Reuters • Oct. 28, 2021

Related Words

• forum