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test-market

American  
[test-mahr-kit] / ˈtɛstˌmɑr kɪt /

verb (used with object)

  1. to offer (a new product) for sale, usually in a limited area, in order to ascertain and evaluate consumer response.


Etymology

Origin of test-market

First recorded in 1950–55

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.

“I saw Napster as a way to test-market and feed new musical artists to you for virtually nothing.”

From Los Angeles Times

The Trapper Keeper made its test-market debut in Wichita in 1978 and began selling nationally three years later.

From Washington Post

It didn’t matter that the poor guy had never even had a chance to test-market Ginger, because Kamen wouldn’t let him show it to anybody.

From Slate

What these multiple engagements suggest is that as theater returns to robust live-ness, Washington has been cast in a significant role once again, as a test-market locale with sophisticated theater tastes.

From Washington Post

Working with a good friend of his from the waterbed days — Keith Koening, president of City Furniture, with 16 stores in South Florida — he is about to test-market Waterbed 2018.

From Seattle Times