commercial

adjective com·mer·cial \ kə-ˈmər-shəl \

Definition of commercial

1 a (1) :occupied with or engaged in commerce or work intended for commerce

a commercial artist

(2) :of or relating to commerce

commercial regulations

commercial services

(3) :characteristic of commerce

commercial weights

(4) :suitable, adequate, or prepared for commerce

found oil in commercial quantities

b (1) :being of an average or inferior quality

commercial oxalic acid

show-quality versus commercial cattle

(2) :producing artistic work of low standards for quick market success

2 a :viewed with regard to profit

a commercial success

of no commercial value

b :designed for a large market

commercial coffee production

3 :emphasizing skills and subjects useful in business

a commercial school

4 :supported by advertisers

commercial TV

—

commerciality

play \kə-ˌmər-shē-ˈa-lə-tē\ noun

—

commercially

play \kə-ˈmər-sh(ə-)lē\ adverb

See commercial defined for English-language learners

See commercial defined for kids

Examples of commercial in a Sentence

Their music is too commercial.
The average American sees and hears thousands of commercial messages each day.

Recent Examples of commercial from the Web

That's roughly half of all properties — residential and commercial — in that area.

— Bloomberg.com, "Most Harvey Flood Victims on Hook to Pay for Home Repairs," 29 Aug. 2017
There are eight commercial Atlantic salmon farms operating in Washington waters, all owned by Cooke, which bought the operations a year ago from Icicle Seafoods.

— lynda v. mapes, The Seattle Times, "Farmed salmon ‘heading to every river in Puget Sound’," 24 Aug. 2017
Older teens can secure restaurant or retail positions; visit nearby commercial centers or strip malls with your child to look for Help Wanted signs.

— k. lori hanson, ph.d., miamiherald, "Part-time jobs hold great benefits for teenagers," 21 Aug. 2017
Other possibilities are commercial development lawyers, architects, real estate agents and dentists.

— Naperville Sun, "Letters to the editor: Many views of old Nichols Library," 18 Aug. 2017
Commercial burglaries also dropped, from 29 last year to 25 this year.

— elizabeth marie himchak, Rancho Bernardo, "Rancho Bernardo crime trends show improvement," 17 Aug. 2017
The promo team then began shepherding the couch from location to location (a beach, a farm, a gas station, a forest) for commercial shoots.

— alex suskind, vanityfair.com, "Inside Nickelodeon’s Saturday Night Gamble," 15 Aug. 2017
Bankers who underwrite equity and debt will probably see annual bonuses surge 10 percent to 20 percent or more, while those in retail and commercial banking can expect raises of 5 percent to 10 percent.

— bess levin, The Hive, "Trump Donor Bob Mercer Drops a Bomb on Jeff Flake," 9 Aug. 2017
In Sicario, his principled and dryly sarcastic CIA officer Matt Graver stood out among the ensemble cast of the critical and commercial hit.

— maximillian potter, Esquire, "The Llewelyn Moss Moment Josh Brolin Wants to Live By," 9 Aug. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'commercial.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of commercial

see ¹commerce

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1598

See Words from the same year

commercial Synonyms

Synonyms

corporate, marketable, mass-market, salable (or saleable)

Antonyms

noncommercial, nonsalable, uncommercial, unmarketable, unsalable

Related Words

mass-produced, wholesale

Other Business Terms

amortize, caveat emptor, clearinghouse, divest, due diligence, emolument, green-collar, marque, overhead, perquisite

commercial

noun

Definition of commercial

:an advertisement on radio or television

See commercial defined for English-language learners

Examples of commercial in a Sentence

a commercial for a new kind of soap

Recent Examples of commercial from the Web

The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority commercial -- cheesy or not -- is part of the regulator’s bid to say hasta la vista to a 20-year scandal that’s cost banks 27.4 billion pounds ($35 billion).

— suzi ring, Bloomberg.com, "U.K. Says Hasta la Vista to PPI With Schwarzenegger Ads," 29 Aug. 2017
Critics said the commercial trivialized the issue of black residents' interaction with police.

— kansascity, "Procter & Gamble takes calculated risk with ‘The Talk’ ad," 11 Aug. 2017
While pregnant women and children make sympathetic victims in Democratic campaign commercials, changes to Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion don’t apply to them, because the expansion didn’t apply to them in the first place.

— michael tanner, National Review, "The Uninspiring Medicaid Debate," 5 July 2017
The commercial was widely criticized for being tone deaf and trivializing movements like Black Lives Matter.

— ruth kinane, EW.com, "Keeping up with Kendall and Kylie Jenner's scandals: A timeline," 30 June 2017
The commercial is also poignant look back at a time of tremendous cultural transformation.

— ellen mcgirt, Fortune, "How to Be a Better Ally," 26 June 2017
The legislation would press for swifter development of a new, low-altitude air-traffic system for small drones, create a faster approval process for commercial operators and develop a new certification system for small-drone commercial operators.

— alan levin, Bloomberg.com, "Airline Bumping Protection, Easier Drone Permits Aim of Bill," 21 June 2017
Panicked, the producers quickly cut to a commercial.

— christopher rosa, Glamour, "'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit' Predicted the 'Bachelor in Paradise' Controversy a Year Ago," 21 June 2017
Interracial couples can now be seen in books, television shows, movies and commercials.

— Washington Post, "50 years after Loving, 1 in 6 new couples are racially mixed," 11 June 2017

First Known Use of commercial

1935

Other Broadcasting Terms

continuity, dissolve, fade, feed, remote, residual, spike, wipe

COMMERCIAL Defined for English Language Learners

commercial

adjective

Definition of commercial for English Language Learners

: related to or used in the buying and selling of goods and services
: concerned with earning money
: relating to or based on the amount of profit that something earns

commercial

noun

Definition of commercial for English Language Learners

: an advertisement on radio or television

COMMERCIAL Defined for Kids

commercial

noun com·mer·cial \ kə-ˈmər-shəl \

Definition of commercial for Students

:an advertisement broadcast on radio or television

commercial

adjective

Definition of commercial for Students

1 :having to do with the buying and selling of goods and services

2 :used to earn a profit

a commercial jet

—

commercially

adverb

Law Dictionary

commercial

adjective com·mer·cial

legal Definition of commercial

:of or relating to commerce

commercial regulations

—

commercially

adverb

Learn More about commercial

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for commercial Spanish Central: Translation of commercial Nglish: Translation of commercial for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of commercial for Arabic speakers

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up commercial? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show

commercial

Definition of commercial

commerciality

commercially

Read the Latest from M-W

Examples of commercial in a Sentence

Recent Examples of commercial from the Web

Origin and Etymology of commercial

commercial Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Related Words

Other Business Terms

commercial

Definition of commercial

Examples of commercial in a Sentence

Recent Examples of commercial from the Web

First Known Use of commercial

Other Broadcasting Terms

Phrases Related to COMMERCIAL

Related Phrases

COMMERCIAL Defined for English Language Learners

commercial

Definition of commercial for English Language Learners

commercial

Definition of commercial for English Language Learners

COMMERCIAL Defined for Kids

commercial

Definition of commercial for Students

commercial

Definition of commercial for Students

commercially

Law Dictionary

commercial

legal Definition of commercial

commercially

Learn More about commercial

Seen and Heard

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Words at Play

Ask the Editors

Word Games

8 Words for Trickery and Deception

'Dis': From Early Rap to Academic Journals

Trending: NY Times: Trump's Call Ignites 'Imbroglio'

The Exceptions Quiz III

Words of the Year: 1066