multi-level marketing

noun

variants or multilevel marketing

: a business structure or practice in which an individual seller earns commissions both from direct sales and from the sales of the seller's recruits, of those recruited by the seller's recruits, and so on

In multi-level marketing, like selling Amway cleaning products, you also earn commissions from products sold by others you bring into the organization.

—Judy Waytiuk

If the money you make is based on your sales to the public, it may be a legitimate multilevel marketing plan. If the money you make is mainly based on the number of people you recruit and your sales to them, it's a pyramid scheme.

—Aditi Jhaveri

—abbreviation MLM

multi-level marketer noun

or multilevel marketer

plural multi-level marketers or multilevel marketers

She signed on with the multilevel marketer (a business model that pays income from the sales of consultants recruited into the program) in October 2001, hosting spa parties at friends' homes.

—Claire McIntosh

Examples of multi-level marketing in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Family-friendly fun, live music, unique vendors (no multi-level marketing). — Luann Gibbs, The Enquirer, 20 Oct. 2024

In May of 2018, the couple had been broken up for a couple of months but worked together at a multi-level marketing company. — Olivia Young, CBS News, 20 Dec. 2025

They were promoted through multi-level marketing, the controversial business model where sales agents sell products to consumers and earn commissions by recruiting new sellers. — Trevor Bach, Dallas Morning News, 19 Feb. 2026

Claiming to provide low-effort income and flexible working hours, multi-level marketing (MLM) companies seem like a great opportunity for anyone who wants to work on their own terms. — Brianna Kamienski, USA TODAY, 31 July 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1968, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for multi-level marketing

• telemarketing