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

Once busy marketplaces have been abandoned and are overgrown. —Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 5 Dec. 2025

However, many travelers don't think twice about buying a cheap charging cable from a questionable vendor at an airport shop or online marketplace, making these cables a more successful point of attack. —Iona Brannon, Travel + Leisure, 5 Dec. 2025

This corporate marketplace, where shareholders have the ability to raise issues of financial risk and return, is fundamental to long-term market growth and stability. —Andrew Behar, Fortune, 5 Dec. 2025

The average age of cars on the road in the United States today is over 12 years, according to car buying and selling marketplace Autotrader. —Charles Singh, USA Today, 5 Dec. 2025

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