merchandise

1 of 3

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 3

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 3

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

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

Milton had originally been caught shoplifting about $55 worth of merchandise from an Uptown Walgreens in late April and was released on electronic monitoring, court records show. — Dan Petrella, Chicago Tribune, 18 July 2026

Unlike traditional clearance events, the Anniversary Sale features new-season merchandise at temporary markdowns before prices return to full retail. — ABC News, 18 July 2026

Verb

Lindsay also discusses the brand’s expansion of IP, including Pablo Sanchez, from video games to merchandise and streaming programming. — Jacob Feldman, Sportico.com, 23 June 2026

But mutual contempt was perhaps an even less promising foundation to build a country on than merchandising. — Christopher Hooks, Harpers Magazine, 23 June 2026

Noun

The plan is to offer a more stylish merchandising, with furniture and fittings that reflect the brand’s push into the premium market. — Samantha Conti, Footwear News, 13 July 2026

With shares pulling back almost 30% from their April peak, analysts said the risk/reward looks much better considering the company is retaining new customers well and the merchandising team is firing on all cylinders. — Jim Cramer, CNBC, 9 July 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