marketplace

noun

mar·​ket·​place ˈmär-kət-ˌplās 

1

a

: an open square or place in a town where markets or public sales are held

b

: market

the marketplace is the interpreter of supply and demand

2

: the world of trade or economic activity : the everyday world

3

: a sphere in which intangible values compete for acceptance

the marketplace of ideas

Synonyms of marketplace

• commerce
• trade
• traffic

Examples of marketplace in a Sentence

Their products must compete in the marketplace.

The company has struggled to survive in a rapidly changing marketplace.

Recent Examples on the Web

Low-cost marketplaces like Shein and Temu are also commanding more attention, Duke wrote. —Anne D'innocenzio, Chicago Tribune, 17 Apr. 2026

This could explain why the company was found to enter into competition with third-party sellers for only about 8% of products sold on its US marketplace. —Satya Marar, Oc Register, 17 Apr. 2026

Trade Wholesale marketplace and trade center complex Dallas Market Center (DMC) has promoted Jill Cunningham to executive vice president of apparel leasing. —Alexandra Harrell, Footwear News, 17 Apr. 2026

Also during the upfront, Paramount TV Media chair George Cheeks and CBS Entertainment president Amy Reisenbach repeated Wednesday’s news about the Eye network’s fall schedule and its position in the marketplace. —Michael Schneider, Variety, 17 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for marketplace

• aerospace
• anatase
• anyplace
• commonplace
• cyberspace
• database
• diabase
• diastase
• dnase
• elastase
• fireplace
• hyperspace

Kids Definition

marketplace

noun

mar·​ket·​place ˈmär-kət-ˌplās 

1

: an open square or place in a town where markets are held

2

: the world of trade

Legal Definition

marketplace

noun

mar·​ket·​place ˈmär-kət-ˌplās 

: the economic system through which different companies compete with each other to sell their products