gray market

noun

: a market employing irregular but not illegal methods
especially : a market that legally circumvents authorized channels of distribution to sell goods at prices lower than those intended by the manufacturer

Examples of gray market in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Amazon reviews purchased on the gray market or written by generative AI bots? Christopher Null, WIRED, 7 Feb. 2024 One hypothesis Mexican officials have is that the morphine may be coming from black or gray markets while being sold as legitimate. Beth Mole, Ars Technica, 16 June 2023 But as explained by Bloomberg in December, a semiconductor gray market in China became visible in 2020 due to the global chip shortage. Scharon Harding, Ars Technica, 30 Mar. 2023 China’s gray market The incidents above show smugglers seemingly attempting to bring products into mainland China but being interrupted by China or Hong Kong customs. Scharon Harding, Ars Technica, 30 Mar. 2023 The unlicensed dispensaries operating in the gray market might divert up to $1 billion annually from the legal market until 2030, which could result in a loss of around $2.6 billion in tax revenue over the next seven years, according to an exclusive report obtained by Forbes. Dario Sabaghi, Forbes, 28 Nov. 2023 There is a thriving gray market for the medication, according to state media, which reported that scalpers in Beijing were selling it for up to $7,400 per box. Lyric Li, Washington Post, 11 Jan. 2023 The American Watches of Switzerland boutiques are already carrying the CPO program and sources tell us its vintage branch, Analog/Shift, was recently contacting gray market dealers to unload many of its older vintage models at a discount. Paige Reddinger, Robb Report, 5 Sep. 2023 Unlike the three major drug distribution companies in the U.S. — McKesson Corp., Cardinal Health and AmerisourceBergen Corp. — gray market vendors typically operate outside the regulations and industry standards for supplying drugs, Fox said. Jessica Klingbaum, NBC News, 17 Aug. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'gray market.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1934, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of gray market was in 1934

Dictionary Entries Near gray market

Cite this Entry

“Gray market.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gray%20market. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Legal Definition

gray market

noun
: a market employing irregular but not illegal methods
especially : a market that legally circumvents authorized channels of distribution to sell goods at prices lower than those intended by the manufacturer

More from Merriam-Webster on gray market

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