spot market

American

noun

a market in which commodities, as grain, gold, or crude oil, are dealt in for cash and immediate delivery (distinguished from futures market).

spot market British

noun

commerce a market in which commodities, currencies, or securities are traded for immediate delivery Compare forward market

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of spot market

First recorded in 1935–40

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.

See Examples For:

spot market

This could be a threshold that would send China back to the spot market to buy more oil.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026

Continued strong demand in the container market, particularly in East Asia, and a recent sustained increase in spot market rates prompted the group to upgrade its outlook.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026

Meanwhile, Asian buyers have turned more aggressively to the spot market to secure supply.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 12, 2026

The crude-oil tanker trade spot market is a dynamic, volatile market affected by oil prices, refining markets, and other pricing structures.

From Barron's ● Apr. 22, 2026

The only possible way of making such a contract was by guaranteeing that the spot market should not fall below the price then ruling.

From The Romance and Tragedy by Russell, William Ingraham

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023