black market 1 of 2

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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black-market

2 of 2

verb

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of black market
Noun
The black market surgeon is revealed to be Jeong-min, Ju-yeon’s boyfriend. Kayti Burt, Time, 4 Apr. 2025 The price of Iran’s currency, the rial, rallied slightly against the dollar on the black market. Farnaz Fassihi, New York Times, 11 Apr. 2025
Verb
The group is also urging Facebook-parent Meta to more aggressively enforce its rules against fraud and deceptive practices by cracking down on these black-market groups. Clare Duffy, CNN Money, 14 Apr. 2025 Ross Ulbricht, founder of the black-market website, Silk Road.[3] Trevor Milton, CEO of Nikola Corporation, defrauded his investors. Sanjeev Menon, Forbes.com, 14 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for black market
Recent Examples of Synonyms for black market
Noun
  • The latter arrangement has floundered amid a trade war with China and was not part of a deal to temporarily bring down tariffs last week.
    Francesca Chambers, USA Today, 18 May 2025
  • Seasonal products Ryan Monarch, assistant professor of economics at Syracuse University, told CNN that seasonal and holiday shopping purchases can’t be delayed for two to three months to wait on the trade war to play out.
    Auzinea Bacon, CNN Money, 17 May 2025
Verb
  • The other senators are immediately abuzz, and Mothma has to be smuggled out of the spherical senate chamber to avoid abduction by a turncoat.
    Kyle Chayka, New Yorker, 21 May 2025
  • Prison officials in Costa Rica caught an unlikely suspect attempting to smuggle drugs behind bars last week.
    Sean Neumann, People.com, 19 May 2025
Noun
  • Additionally, appropriate pricing strategies can assist in mitigating some of the challenges associated with the gray market.
    Bhavesh Gupta, Forbes.com, 29 Apr. 2025
  • Mercenary spyware firms employ highly skilled engineers to either develop in-house or purchase software vulnerabilities from gray market firms, known as exploits or zero days, of which manufacturers of consumer devices and applications are not yet aware.
    Ronald J. Deibert, Foreign Affairs, 24 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • However, the goal is to open the door to the possibility of bartering.
    Brittney Melton, NPR, 15 Apr. 2025
  • While dolphin meat is eaten and bartered with neighboring islands for food, betel nuts and other products, the teeth are the true prize of the hunt.
    Prianka Srinivasan Matthew Abbott, New York Times, 26 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • The film business is susceptible to the same pressures, the same corporate tendencies to prioritize technology, efficiency, and hype over humanity and art.
    Justin Chang, New Yorker, 20 May 2025
  • In 2009, Côme opened his own picturesque vanilla business, La Vanilleraie, a tourist attraction on a historic estate, Le Grand Hazier, dating back to the 1670s, and still active as a sugar plantation.
    Jay Cheshes, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 May 2025
Verb
  • 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
  • In Chicago, as in other major cities, a few high-profile mobsters battled it out for bootlegging supremacy.
    Sarah Holzmann, Smithsonian Magazine, 14 Feb. 2025
Noun
  • This was the first time Walmart's eCommerce business achieved a full quarter of profitability, benefiting from higher-margin businesses, including online advertising and its marketplace, the company said.
    Ananya Mariam Rajesh, USA Today, 16 May 2025
  • The latter firm sees the value of the global women’s sports marketplace growing 300% to $1.28 billion in the next three years.
    Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 16 May 2025
Verb
  • President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa (L) and U.S. President Donald Trump exchange words during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House on May 21, 2025 in Washington, DC.
    Gerald Imray, Fortune, 21 May 2025
  • Become a Subscriber Last week in Istanbul, Russian and Ukrainian officials held public talks for the first time since 2022, agreeing to exchange 1,000 prisoners each and to continue negotiating the technical details of a potential cease-fire.
    Thomas Wright, The Atlantic, 19 May 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Black market.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/black%20market. Accessed 25 May. 2025.

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