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

The group says the centralized location near the bus stop will help the free market better serve residents in the surrounding cities. —Christa Swanson, CBS News, 12 Apr. 2026

Since 2021, the state has been grappling with slowing economic output, weaning itself off a property market bubble, and trying to find a balance between promoting a free market and stock exchange within a one-party autocracy. —Joseph Wilkins,sean Conlon, CNBC, 10 Apr. 2026

Let the free market decide what happens to the site. —Teri Sforza, Oc Register, 10 Apr. 2026

As is so often the case, the free market is best positioned to settle this conflict. —John Cleveland, Boston Herald, 7 Apr. 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