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

carpets from Iran, India, or Taiwan are merchandised along with Italian leather goods and Spanish ceramics

—Irving Kolodin

2

: to promote for or as if for sale

merchandise a movie star

intransitive verb

archaic : to carry on commerce : trade

merchandiser noun

Synonyms

Noun

• goods
• commodities

Verb

• sell
• retail

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

Fans braved 91-degree heat to attend the Houston concert and purchase merchandise. —Caché McClay, USA Today, 28 June 2025

Speaking at a recent Oppenheimer investor conference, CFO John David Rainey shared that about half of its GMV growth in general merchandise has been from its marketplace business. —Pamela N. Danziger, Forbes.com, 27 June 2025

Verb

Everything Estée Lauder did was first-class and so many of us learned from every aspect — leadership skills to merchandising to marketing. —Jenny B. Fine, Footwear News, 17 June 2025

But his true character is subsumed by a flurry of moments that seem designed to be memed or turned into future merchandising opportunities. —Barry Levitt, Time, 21 May 2025

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
• agonize
• alibis
• alkalies
• alkalis
• amortize
• amplifies
• analyse
• analyze
• anywise
• authorize

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