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 3a) 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 idea is that individuals pursuing their own interests in a free market can, without intending it, advance the interests of society as a whole. — Linda K. Brown Stroh, Fortune, 11 Oct. 2026

Before joining Treasury, Shelton was a senior fellow at the Independent Institute, a free market think tank, and, before that, at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. — Steve Liesman, CNBC, 9 Oct. 2026

The order and accompanying legislation must be designed so that collecting and disseminating foreign trade secrets advances defense and intelligence priorities and does not unduly distort the free market. — David S. Cohen, Foreign Affairs, 8 Oct. 2026

Let the free market decide whether or not a city/sport match makes sense. — Mary Ramsey, Charlotte Observer, 6 Oct. 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