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

In 2026, shoppers are getting ultra-specific with their secondhand marketplace searches, a shift that has wider implications for the resale industry. — Madeleine Schulz, Vogue, 24 Aug. 2026

Even before the launch of the ACA marketplace in 2014, HAAM had spent a decade connecting musicians with free and low-cost care at clinics and hospitals in and around Austin. — Olivia Aldridge, NPR, 23 Aug. 2026

Yet still, economists, pundits, and politicians continue to heap endless scorn on the Fed for not seeing into the future back in 2019 and 2020, only to not intervene in the marketplace to ensure prices didn’t rise. — John Tamny, Forbes.com, 23 Aug. 2026

Michael O’Leary, the president and CEO of the movie theater trade organization Cinema United, noted the wide variety of movies in the marketplace that have helped contribute to a big summer. — Lindsey Bahr, Chicago Tribune, 23 Aug. 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