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
John Ruwitch, NPR, 15 Jan. 2026
In September, Newsom signed a bill to roll back taxes on the legal-cannabis industry, because the regulatory burden has left it struggling to compete with the black market.
—Helen Lewis, The Atlantic, 6 Jan. 2026
Skyler Caruso, PEOPLE, 29 Nov. 2025
Analyzing the makeup and variety of greys’ gut microbes can provide insights about where the birds spend time — at large in the wild, or getting shuffled along a black-market trade route, or sitting in a cage at a bird farm.
—Rene Ebersole, Rolling Stone, 18 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for black market
Noun
They are bought abroad, smuggled in and traded on the black market.
—John Ruwitch, NPR, 15 Jan. 2026
In September, Newsom signed a bill to roll back taxes on the legal-cannabis industry, because the regulatory burden has left it struggling to compete with the black market.
—Helen Lewis, The Atlantic, 6 Jan. 2026
Verb
This wasn’t the first time Moore has been candid about aging, having been especially vocal about it during the press tour for The Substance, a 2024 horror film about a fading celebrity who uses a black-market drug to create a younger, more perfect version of herself.
—Skyler Caruso, PEOPLE, 29 Nov. 2025
Analyzing the makeup and variety of greys’ gut microbes can provide insights about where the birds spend time — at large in the wild, or getting shuffled along a black-market trade route, or sitting in a cage at a bird farm.
—Rene Ebersole, Rolling Stone, 18 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for black market
Recent Examples of Synonyms for black market
Noun
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Doncic had 33 points and 11 assists, and the Lakers erased a 15-point deficit in the final seven minutes of a 116-110 victory over the Mavericks on Saturday night in the star guard’s second visit to Dallas since his shocking trade to the Lakers almost a calendar year ago.—
Oc Register,
Oc Register,
25 Jan. 2026
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Through the city’s Group Violence Reduction Strategy (GVRS) and through partnering with the federal government to disrupt drug trade within the city.—
Sarah Rumpf-Whitten,
FOXNews.com,
25 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Joel, played by Pedro Pascal, a hardened survivor, is hired to smuggle Ellie, a 14-year-old girl, out of an oppressive quarantine zone.—
Katie Campione,
Deadline,
26 Jan. 2026
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The family moved to what became the Krakow ghetto, and Zamczyk and other children would find ways to get out under the ghetto walls and smuggle food back to their families.—
Sal Pizarro,
Mercury News,
26 Jan. 2026
Noun
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But the size of the gray market may be fundamentally at odds with its viability.—
Sarah Zhang,
The Atlantic,
23 Dec. 2025
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While marketing software through Telegram isn’t inherently nefarious, researchers say that Haotian’s customer base has increasingly skewed toward scammers who already seek out information about an array of gray market services on the messaging app.—
Matt Burgess,
Wired News,
18 Dec. 2025
Verb
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About 40 minutes into the film, Linda makes the fatal mistake of bartering with her daughter outside the treatment facility.—
Angelica Jade Bastién,
Vulture,
19 Dec. 2025
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Workers have far less bargaining power to barter for better salaries that once made the jobs so attractive.—
Emma Burleigh,
Fortune,
4 Dec. 2025
Noun
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More than three months after a fire destroyed more than a dozen businesses in a shopping center in Colorado's Nederland community, many residents are still pushing for the debris to be cleaned up.—
Sarah Horbacewicz,
CBS News,
12 Jan. 2026
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Initially conceived as a political technology firm largely backing moderate Republicans, the business has broadened its aperture over time to focus on reaching key influential figures across business, government, and media.—
Max Tani,
semafor.com,
12 Jan. 2026
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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The credits are available to people who bought health care policies in the Affordable Care Act marketplaces.—
David Lightman,
Sacbee.com,
8 Jan. 2026
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Unrest at the Tehran bazaar is particularly unsettling for officials because the shuttering of shops at the ancient marketplace and protests from the merchant class were key elements that led to the overthrow of the monarchy in 1979.—
Henry Austin,
NBC news,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Prosecutors allege the defendants sold meal packs intended for vulnerable families overseas and exchanged millions in benefits for cash.—
Jennifer Nassour,
Boston Herald,
27 Jan. 2026
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Other local volunteers come by regularly to bring him coffee and baked goods, or to exchange news.—
Robert F. Worth,
The Atlantic,
26 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Black market.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/black%20market. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
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