merchandise

1 of 2

noun

mer·​chan·​dise ˈmər-chən-ˌdīz 

-ˌdīs

1

: the commodities or goods that are bought and sold in business : wares

sells a variety of spring merchandise

2

archaic : the occupation of a merchant : trade

merchandise

2 of 2

verb

mer·​chan·​dise ˈmər-chən-ˌdīz 

variants or less commonly merchandize

merchandised also merchandized; merchandising also merchandizing

transitive verb

1

: to buy and sell in business

Far from just choosing tasteful red, white and blue clothes, the Olympic initiative involves designing, manufacturing, shipping and merchandising the clothes …

—Rosemary Feitelberg

2

: to promote for or as if for sale

merchandise a movie star

intransitive verb

archaic : to carry on commerce : trade

merchandiser noun

Synonyms of merchandise

Noun

• goods
• commodities

Verb

• sell

Examples of merchandise in a Sentence

Noun

The merchandise will arrive by truck at noon.

He's developed his own brand of merchandise.

Verb

The political candidates are being merchandised to the public.

the now-familiar practice of stores merchandising goods at dramatically lower prices on the day after Thanksgiving

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The district’s facilities director said could cost about $250,000 to change the school’s team uniforms, school merchandise and campus signage. —Chaewon Chung, Sacbee.com, 29 May 2026

New York City is currently a bit of a wasteland for big box stores like Dick’s Sporting Goods or even Walmart that often sell that merchandise. —Scott Soshnick, Sportico.com, 28 May 2026

Verb

The Squeeze team has merchandising, a popular social media presence and tons of support across the country. —Jason Beede, The Orlando Sentinel, 22 May 2026

Athleisure brands on the floor include Vuori, Tala, Literary Sport, Adidas and New Balance, which have all been merchandised with a fashion buyer’s eye. —Samantha Conti, Footwear News, 7 May 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Verb

Middle English marchaundise, from Anglo-French marchandise, from marcheant

First Known Use

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Rhymes for merchandise

• advertise
• aggrandize
• alibis
• alkalies
• alkalis
• amortize
• amplifies
• analyse
• analyze
• anywise
• authorize
• butterflies

Kids Definition

merchandise

1 of 2 noun

mer·​chan·​dise ˈmər-chən-ˌdīz 

-ˌdīs

: the goods that are bought and sold in trade

merchandise

2 of 2 verb

ˈmər-chən-ˌdīz

merchandised; merchandising

: to buy and sell : trade

especially : to try to improve sales of goods or services by attractive presentation and publicity

merchandiser noun