market

noun, often attributive

mar·ket | \ ˈmär-kət

Definition of market

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a(1) : a meeting together of people for the purpose of trade by private purchase and sale and usually not by auction

(2) : the people assembled at such a meeting

b(1) : a public place where a market is held especially : a place where provisions are sold at wholesale a farmers' market

(2) : a retail establishment usually of a specified kind a fish market

2 archaic : the act or an instance of buying and selling

3 : the rate or price offered for a commodity or security

4a(1) : a geographic area of demand for commodities or services sell in the southern market

(2) : a specified category of potential buyers the youth market

b : the course of commercial activity by which the exchange of commodities is effected : extent of demand the market is dull

c(1) : an opportunity for selling a good market for used cars

(2) : the available supply of or potential demand for specified goods or services the labor market

d : the area of economic activity in which buyers and sellers come together and the forces of supply and demand affect prices producing goods for market rather than for consumption

in the market

: in the position of being a potential buyer in the market for a house

on the market

: available for purchase also : up for sale put their house on the market

market

verb

marketed; marketing; markets

Definition of market (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

1 : to expose for sale in a market

2 : sell

intransitive verb

: to deal in a market

Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about market

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Synonyms & Antonyms for market

Synonyms: Noun

call, demand, request

Synonyms: Verb

deal (in), merchandise (also merchandize), put up, retail, sell, vend

Antonyms: Verb

buy, purchase

Examples of market in a Sentence

Noun

I stopped at the market on the way home for some juice. They are trying to develop foreign markets for American cotton. The company sells mainly to the Southern market. New markets are opening up all over the world. Advertisers are trying to appeal to the youth market. targeting a more mature market a reference work for the educational market

Verb

The company has spent millions marketing the latest version of its software. These products are being aggressively marketed to teenagers through television ads. He markets his wares at craft shows.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

This is all to say: Women represent a huge market, and in some ways, because of a lack of care options, a vulnerable one. — Ciara Phelan, Allure, "What Is Femtech, and Is It the New Pink Tax?," 22 Apr. 2019 Beauty is a tough market, and maintaining Violet Grey’s buzz is an evolving challenge, though the company claims to have doubled its revenue year over year in 2018, to more than $10 million. — Seth Abramovitch, Town & Country, "The Loves and Losses of Cassandra Grey," 18 Apr. 2019 New Belgium wanted a way to stand out, especially in a crowded beer market like Denver, which is how the idea of a hotel brewery was born. — James Lynch, Popular Mechanics, "New Belgium Builds a Brewery in a Denver Hotel," 12 Apr. 2019 Sorry Zac and Nina shippers, at least this means that Zac is still on the market! — Tamara Fuentes, Seventeen, "Are Zac Efron and Nina Dobrev Dating?," 9 Apr. 2019 The country opened its market to French beef products following Macron’s January 2018 state visit to China. — Sylvie Corbet, The Seattle Times, "China’s Xi sees honors, Airbus deal in state visit to France," 26 Mar. 2019 Flint says the move means her sales have grown by 250%, which is helping her market to more women. — Katherine J. Igoe, Marie Claire, "How Meghan Markle's Favorite Shoe Designer Is Trying to Keep Her Shoes Affordable," 3 Jan. 2019 The answer to this question will probably decide the fate of high-fat yogurts in our market. — Jamie Lauren Keiles, Vox, "How low-fat dairy came to rule the US — and why that’s changing.," 20 Dec. 2018 Ray announced the digital market place at a celebration during South by Southwest (SXSW). — Nicole Saunders, Harper's BAZAAR, "Rachael Ray Launches Fashion E-Commerce Site Featuring Female-Founded Brands," 22 Mar. 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

How much of the language is just marketing mumbo-jumbo, and which terms should be taken into serious consideration? — Jessica Chia, Allure, "The Sunscreen Glossary: A Comprehensive Guide to Everything You Need to Know About SPF," 4 May 2019 Some equipment marketed for safety may not actually provide any benefits. — Marisa Lascala, Good Housekeeping, "The 5 Best Toddler Swim Safety Tips, According to Swim Experts," 2 May 2019 What’s more, a number of alternative medicine sites even offer products like specialty vitamins or health programs marketed for individuals with MTHFR variants, with some treatments costing thousands of dollars. — Tara C. Smith, SELF, "Why You Don't Actually Need to Test for MTHFR Gene Variants," 18 Mar. 2019 Although historically, the beauty industry has been largely marketed towards women, everyone has the right to embrace makeup, including men who love makeup. — Maya Allen, Marie Claire, "Love Magazine's David Beckham Cover Showing Off His Green Eyeshadow Is Incredible," 9 Jan. 2019 Investors had marketed the 35-acre site as an ideal food manufacturing facility, offering a large wastewater treatment plant, rail access, silos for grain and other storage, as well as large refrigeration units. — Grace Schneider, The Courier-Journal, "Pillsbury plant in New Albany will re-open as a bottling company," 30 May 2018 The company markets the service to businesses and government entities as a way to monitor employee productivity. — Jackie Borchardt, cleveland.com, "Dave Yost said this software was the 'smoking gun' in ECOT audit. What does it do?," 11 May 2018 The team has marketed Lillard, and branded him as the face of the franchise. — John Canzano, OregonLive.com, "Canzano: Trail Blazers facing inconvenient truth about future in series against Pelicans," 19 Apr. 2018 The company could market its growing inventory of stocks to other potential users, allowing them to match more buyers and sellers, as well as longs and shorts, internally, shaving expenses for everyone involved. — Hugh Son, Bloomberg.com, "Wall Street’s Big Banks Are Waging an All-Out Technological Arms Race," 5 Apr. 2018

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

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Last Updated

10 May 2019

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The first known use of market was in the 12th century

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More Definitions for market

market

noun

Financial Definition of market

What It Is

A market is a location where buyers and sellers meet to exchange goods and services at prices determined by the forces of supply and demand.

How It Works

A market may be a physical location or a virtual one over a network (for example, the internet). Here, people who have a specific good or service (the supply) they want to sell interact with people who wish to buy it (the demand).

Prices in a market are determined by changes in supply and demand. If market demand is steady, an increase in market supply results in a decline in market prices and vice versa. If market supply is steady, a rise in demand results in a rise in market prices and vice versa. These relationships are demonstrated in the following graphs:

Producers advertise goods and services to consumers in a market in order to generate demand. Also, the term "market" is closely associated with financial assets and securities prices (for example, the stock market or the bond market).

Why It Matters

A market facilitates transactions between buyers and sellers (financial markets) and producers and consumers (consumer goods and services market). Markets experience fluctuations and price shifts resulting from changes in supply and demand. These changes result from fluctuations in many variables including, but not limited to, consumer preferences and perceptions, the availability of materials, and external sociopolitical events (for example, wars, government spending, and unemployment).

Source: Investing Answers

market

noun