open market

American  

noun

1. an unrestricted competitive market in which any buyer and seller is free to participate.

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open market British  

noun

1. 1. a market in which prices are determined by supply and demand, there are no barriers to entry, and trading is not restricted to a specific area

   2. ( as modifier )

      open-market value

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Other Word Forms

• open-market
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of open market

First recorded in 1760–70

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

open market

The 443.3 million Intel shares the government acquired for $8.9 billion are currently worth nearly $44 billion on the open market.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026

Investors should look to see whether anyone else pays cash up front to lock in wafers, which would be a measure of how little faith buyers have in the open market.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 7, 2026

While beach huts regularly come up for sale in Abersoch, Elvin said it was rare for one on the beach's more sought-after right-hand side to reach the open market.

From BBC ● Jun. 24, 2026

It’s unclear whether those shares were received as an IPO subscription before trading began, or bought in the open market after SpaceX started trading.

From Barron's ● Jun. 15, 2026

It was a street in one of the poorer quarters, where there was an open market which was generally crowded and noisy.

From "1984" by George Orwell