merchandise

1 of 4

noun (1)

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 4

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

merchandising

3 of 4

noun (2)

mer·​chan·​dis·​ing ˈmər-chən-ˌdī-ziŋ 

variants or less commonly merchandizing

: sales promotion as a comprehensive function including market research, development of new products, coordination of manufacture and marketing, and effective advertising and selling

merchandising

4 of 4

present participle of merchandise entry 2

Synonyms of merchandise

Noun (1)

• goods
• commodities

Verb

• sell

Examples of merchandise in a Sentence

Noun (1)

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

Noun (2)

She is the company's director of merchandising.

The film made a lot of money thanks to strong merchandising.

Most of the movie's earnings came from merchandising and not ticket sales.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

These highly articulated figures come with interchangeable face plates, extra hands, and character-specific accessories, meeting high demand for merchandise. — Tim Lammers, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2026

The team's official drumline, The Pack, pounded on illuminated drums during quarter breaks, while Skye, the team's sassy, blue-haired lioness mascot, jumped onto the T-shirt cannon to launch souvenir merchandise high into stadium seats. — Odette Yousef, NPR, 29 Aug. 2026

Verb

In fact, the team’s estimate for the film’s end budget, after merchandising costs and fees, is essentially the same as one first-season episode of a half-hour comedy on a streaming network. — Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 18 Aug. 2026

In our study, the participating retailer similarly attributed the growing performance of several accessories largely to improved cross-selling and learning about how to merchandise them effectively. — Ayşe Çetinel, Harvard Business Review, 18 Aug. 2026

Noun

Gonzalez joined The Vitamin Shoppe in August 2020 as executive vice president, chief merchandising and marketing officer. — David Moin, Footwear News, 23 Aug. 2026

There was positive growth in nine of 13 merchandising categories. — Charlotte Observer, 20 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1) and Verb

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

First Known Use

Noun (1)

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Noun (2)

1917, in the meaning defined above

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