gift economy
noun
plural gift economies
: a system in which goods and services are given freely between people rather than sold or bartered
The gift economy—a system whereby goods are not sold but given away—has been around for as long as we've had things.—
Patricia Marx
compare market economy
Patricia MarxExamples of gift economy in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The nature of seed sharing is based on a gift economy.
—Tamara Yakaboski, The Denver Post, 20 Mar. 2024
Hyde begins with a lengthy discussion of gift economies, like those found on the South Sea islands or among Indigenous Americans.
—Meghan O'Gieblyn, WIRED, 20 Feb. 2024
One way to approach the episode might have been to see it as an inevitable, if uncomfortable, outgrowth of a movement that encouraged people to feel communal ownership of their local gift economies.
—WIRED, 23 Feb. 2023
Tamara Yakaboski, The Denver Post, 20 Mar. 2024
Hyde begins with a lengthy discussion of gift economies, like those found on the South Sea islands or among Indigenous Americans.
—Meghan O'Gieblyn, WIRED, 20 Feb. 2024
One way to approach the episode might have been to see it as an inevitable, if uncomfortable, outgrowth of a movement that encouraged people to feel communal ownership of their local gift economies.
—WIRED, 23 Feb. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'gift economy.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Gift economy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gift%20economy. Accessed 27 Apr. 2024.
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