as in trade
a system through which things are bought and sold illegally
The black market in prescription drugs is thriving. They unloaded the stolen goods on the black market.
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as in to smuggle
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of black-market
Franklin Foer, The Atlantic, 4 Aug. 2025
In the 1960s, amid an international wave of conservation concern and critical population estimates falling into the thousands, researchers and biologists sounded the alarm on the impending collapse of the vicuña from black-market wool hunters.
—David Nolan, Smithsonian Magazine, 8 July 2025
Don Graves, Foreign Affairs, 24 Sep. 2025
Fuel queues are growing, and gas is often only available on the black market with prices now reportedly reaching $9 a gallon.
—David Hambling, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for black-market
Noun
Food, in his government’s analysis, had become a weapon used by Hamas to sustain its fighters, reward loyalty, and replenish its armaments through black-market profiteering.
—Franklin Foer, The Atlantic, 4 Aug. 2025
In the 1960s, amid an international wave of conservation concern and critical population estimates falling into the thousands, researchers and biologists sounded the alarm on the impending collapse of the vicuña from black-market wool hunters.
—David Nolan, Smithsonian Magazine, 8 July 2025
Verb
Aside from the compelling morality of alleviating human suffering, this aid can provide a bulwark against foreign manipulation, the emergence of terrorist havens, the growth of black markets, and other security threats that arise from chronic underdevelopment and economic struggle.
—Don Graves, Foreign Affairs, 24 Sep. 2025
Fuel queues are growing, and gas is often only available on the black market with prices now reportedly reaching $9 a gallon.
—David Hambling, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for black-market
Recent Examples of Synonyms for black-market
Noun
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The ocean regulates our climate, supports global trade, and feeds communities.—
Olivier Wenden,
Fortune,
14 Oct. 2025
-
The fallout from that trade, combined with injuries to Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis, derailed the Mavericks’ playoff hopes and led to widespread criticism of the team’s management.—
Evan Dammarell,
MSNBC Newsweek,
14 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The doctors used equipment that had been smuggled into the Ghetto to measure capillary circulation, examine bone marrow under microscopes, and record electrocardiograms.—
Clayton Dalton,
New Yorker,
18 Oct. 2025
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Once filmmakers completed the 28-day shoot, a rough cut was smuggled out of Iran.—
Hugh Hart,
IndieWire,
17 Oct. 2025
Noun
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This loophole fueled a $28 billion gray market, which states are now slowly dismantling—though some have already moved to regulate the industry.—
Dario Sabaghi,
Forbes.com,
16 Sep. 2025
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New research is shedding light on the inner workings of the multimillion-dollar gray market for video game cheats.—
Lily Hay Newman,
Wired News,
16 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Without data centers, flights would be grounded (pilots could not get weather info and flight plans would not be available), communication would become rudimentary, payments would stop processing (welcome back, bartering) — even 911, which goes through an online system, would shut down.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
8 Oct. 2025
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For weeks leading up to the election, judges barter for their votes with candidates and make deals for which court system, division and courthouse they will be assigned to, and power players jockey for the supervisory placements, or presiding judge positions, by promising a bloc of loyal votes.—
Paul Vallas,
Chicago Tribune,
29 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Set to launch later this year, Riyadh Air will debut a 28-seat business-class cabin in a palette of indigo, lavender, mocha golds, and stone accents—its aesthetic loosely inspired by a Bedouin tent.—
Chris Dong,
Robb Report,
18 Oct. 2025
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Despite her many titles, from entrepreneur to author to working mom, DesRochers has built her businesses around a human-first mentality.—
Grace Tucker,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
18 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The fact we’re getting bootlegged and people are grabbing our voices and using ’em, rap needs to be taken as serious as any other genre!—
Mackenzie Cummings-Grady,
Billboard,
11 July 2025
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In 1920s Anaheim, the big local issue was bootlegging and Catholics, who were seen as foreigners in what was supposed to be an Anglo-Saxon Protestant country.—
Gustavo Arellano,
Los Angeles Times,
25 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Thrift stores, online marketplaces and swap meets are just some of the ways shoppers are finding jaw-dropping bargains, nostalgia hits, and even things with a sad backstory.—
Rachael O'Connor,
MSNBC Newsweek,
14 Oct. 2025
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Advertisement Advancing not stifling creativity Kakul Srivastava, CEO of music-sample marketplace Splice, delivered the next toast, which honored human creativity and emphasized the importance of technology that enables rather than restricts it.—
Zoe Corbyn,
Time,
14 Oct. 2025
Verb
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This comes after Hamas and Israel have exchanged surviving hostages and prisoners in the first phase of a ceasefire deal for the war in Gaza.—
NPR,
NPR,
15 Oct. 2025
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The Kansas Young Republicans organization was deactivated on Tuesday following an investigation by Politico into a trove of racist and derogatory messages exchanged in a group chat between young GOP members in four states.—
Matthew Kelly,
Kansas City Star,
15 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Black-market.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/black-market. Accessed 21 Oct. 2025.
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