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
Keith Phipps, Vulture, 1 July 2025
Yikes: People are getting black-market silicone injected into their butts.
—Charles Trepany, USA Today, 18 June 2025
Alex Derosier, Twin Cities, 15 June 2025
After thousands of terrorists invaded Israel and committed mass atrocities, Hamas continued to commandeer aid, creating and taking advantage of a black market.
—Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 1 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for black-market
Noun
Maybe dinosaurs will become highly desirable black-market items for those seeking exotic pets or cutting-edge weapons.
—Keith Phipps, Vulture, 1 July 2025
Yikes: People are getting black-market silicone injected into their butts.
—Charles Trepany, USA Today, 18 June 2025
Verb
Industry critics say higher taxes could hurt the state’s nascent legal cannabis marketplace — which still hasn’t fully launched — by making black market alternatives more appealing to customers.
—Alex Derosier, Twin Cities, 15 June 2025
After thousands of terrorists invaded Israel and committed mass atrocities, Hamas continued to commandeer aid, creating and taking advantage of a black market.
—Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 1 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for black-market
Recent Examples of Synonyms for black-market
Noun
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Other notable happenings in the Physical AI space include: In the midst of U.S. sanctions and a trade war, the Chinese government is investing heavily in creating an invention ecosystem around physical AI.—
Sabbir Rangwala,
Forbes.com,
7 Aug. 2025
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President Donald Trump just enacted a new wave of tariffs on dozens of America’s trading partners, marking a substantial escalation in ongoing trade tensions that could constitute the biggest change to the global economy in nearly a century.—
Elisabeth Buchwald,
CNN Money,
7 Aug. 2025
Verb
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So in the worst sieges in Syria, people could smuggle themselves in and out.—
Isaac Chotiner,
New Yorker,
5 Aug. 2025
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Canada rebukes this, saying only tiny amounts of the drug are smuggled into the United States over their common border.—
Robert Birsel,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Existing in somewhat of a gray market in Maryland over the past several years, local hemp businesses have been able to grow, process and sell their products without the need for a cannabis license.—
Dan Belson,
Baltimore Sun,
16 June 2025
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You shouldn’t be worried as long as the filler is FDA-approved, purchased from a legitimate source (not gray market) and injected by a qualified professional.—
Carlos Wolf,
Miami Herald,
19 June 2025
Verb
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Given the scale of its Russian crude purchases, Beijing has room to barter with Trump and reduce its imports, but that won’t change China’s approach to Russia, according to Yun Sun, director of the China program at the Stimson Center think tank in Washington.—
Simone McCarthy,
CNN Money,
17 July 2025
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Our community’s green space has been treated as expendable, bartered away for the benefit of an outside sports franchise.—
John Herbst,
Sun Sentinel,
5 July 2025
Noun
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And the reliability of economic information Washington provides to foreign governments, businesses and investors is vital to their confidence in our economy.—
Robert Hormats,
Time,
12 Aug. 2025
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At the moment — and surely for some years to come — there is plenty of AI business to go around.—
Patrick Moorhead,
Forbes.com,
12 Aug. 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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Forbes’ methodology and assessment process was designed by an editorial team with broad experience in law practice and knowledge of the legal marketplace.—
Liane Jackson,
Forbes.com,
7 Aug. 2025
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Frederiksen said innovation and applied technology catered to the strength of the university’s traditional portfolio and what the marketplace is looking for.—
Sean Krofssik,
Hartford Courant,
6 Aug. 2025
Verb
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In vessel and vehicular homicide cases, the law exchanges negligence for reckless operation of a boat or car, respectively.—
Grethel Aguila,
Miami Herald,
12 Aug. 2025
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Adler’s poems are filled with the texture of daily life, meals, gardens, handwritten notes, glances exchanged.—
Nia Bowers,
USA Today,
12 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Black-market.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/black-market. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025.
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