sharing economy

Definition of sharing economy

: economic activity that involves individuals buying or selling usually temporary access to goods or services especially as arranged through an online company or organization Arguably the biggest sector of the sharing economy is travel. People are renting their beds to out-of-towners (Airbnb and Couchsurfer), leading them on guided tours (Vayable and CanaryHop) and hosting meals (Voulez Vous Diner and EatWith), sometimes for free but on most sites for a price—though one far below those found at local hotels.— Eliana Dockterman

Examples of sharing economy in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web And China is not the only country in which sharing economy firms are struggling to make the model profitable, as shown by the travails of firms like WeWork and Uber. — Grady Mcgregor, Fortune, "China’s ‘Big Gamble’: Lessons From the Bike Sharing Bust May Hang Over Its A.I. Boom," 6 Dec. 2019 The success of the sharing economy certainly attests to people’s enthusiasm for this option. — Robin Givhan, Washington Post, "The Troubling Ethics of Fashion in the Age of Climate Change," 18 Nov. 2019 Dark side of sharing economy:Use Airbnb, Uber or Lyft? — Edward C. Baig, USA TODAY, "AI, 5G, 'ambient computing': What to expect in tech in 2020 and beyond," 19 Dec. 2019 Electric micromobility has already assured its place in the sharing economy. — Brad Hunstable For Cnn Business Perspectives, CNN, "Congested streets, dying batteries and fragile design: These are the problems e-bikes and scooters must overcome," 15 Oct. 2019 The sharing economy, in other words, isn’t so great at sharing the wealth. — Alison Griswold, Quartz, "The sharing economy is a massive transfer of wealth from rich investors to rich consumers," 21 Aug. 2019 While other sharing economy companies like Uber and Airbnb have made a habit of defying regulations, many e-scooter startups are actively working with European municipalities to define new legal frameworks. — Wired, "Paris Ends an E-Scooter Melee With New Rules of the Road," 8 Nov. 2019 An earlier version of this post appeared in Oversharing, Alison Griswold’s newsletter about the sharing economy. — Alison Griswold, Quartz, "California is about to rewrite the rules of the gig economy," 7 Sep. 2019 These losses reflect the giant wealth transfer at the heart of the sharing economy. — Alison Griswold, Quartz, "The sharing economy is a massive transfer of wealth from rich investors to rich consumers," 21 Aug. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'sharing economy.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

26 Jan 2020

Cite this Entry

“Sharing economy.” The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sharing%20economy. Accessed 26 January 2020.