free market

noun

plural free markets

: an economic system in which prices are based on competition among private businesses and are not controlled or regulated by a government : a market (see market entry 1 sense 4d) operating by free competition

… the free market works best when businesses compete to provide the best services …

—Chris Tomlinson

A free market, technically, requires no government intervention, which is why capitalists usually land on the right of the political spectrum. In America, the government regulates businesses for reasons of social welfare and public safety …, so we don't operate in a truly free market.

—Carolyn Twersky

—often hyphenated when used before another noun

free-market competition

free-market principles

One of the basic premises of the free-market system is that actors are free to buy from or sell to a variety of other actors.

—Barry C. Lynn

Examples of free market in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Such ideas about the wonders of the free market are fairly standard within libertarian-conservative circles. — Gilad Edelman, The Atlantic, 19 July 2026

That's pretty much what the textbook model of the free market would predict. — Greg Rosalsky, NPR, 7 July 2026

Maybe, the thinking went, the free market could help. — Allison Morrow, CNN Money, 21 June 2026

These concerns resonate in a country whose economic success has long been tied to free markets and private innovation. — Wei Zhang, Mercury News, 13 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1642, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for free market

• nonmarket
• premarket
• upmarket
• aftermarket
• patriarchate
• supermarket

Kids Definition

free market

noun

: an economic market operating by free competition