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
David Nolan, Smithsonian Magazine, 8 July 2025
Cracking down on pain prescriptions has driven those suffering unbearable pain to dangerous black-market drugs.
—The Editorial Board, Oc Register, 6 July 2025
David Hambling, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025
And China is highly likely to be gaining access to the chips on the black market, anyway.
—David Goldman, CNN Money, 15 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for black-market
Noun
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
Cracking down on pain prescriptions has driven those suffering unbearable pain to dangerous black-market drugs.
—The Editorial Board, Oc Register, 6 July 2025
Verb
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
And China is highly likely to be gaining access to the chips on the black market, anyway.
—David Goldman, CNN Money, 15 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for black-market
Recent Examples of Synonyms for black-market
Noun
-
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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His throne room is a concrete box; his scepter a smartphone smuggled in to his confines.—
Rhea Mogul,
CNN Money,
7 Oct. 2025
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Israeli officials deny any systematic violations of international law and assert that Hamas routinely used noncombatants as human shields and smuggled humanitarian assistance, accusations denied by the militant group.—
Tom O'Connor,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 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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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
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Riz Ahmed’s Ash is the relay mastermind who will barter the deal, keep Sarah alive from reprisals and handle the sizable cash payment.—
Stephen Schaefer,
Boston Herald,
20 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Vuitton, Gucci bags Hill’s business dealings with Gatlin may stand out, but her company’s transactions with the Foundation were not as numerous or as large as those involving Holsendolph, the Miami vendor.—
Michelle Marchante,
Miami Herald,
12 Oct. 2025
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CEOs and global leaders will gather for a dynamic, invitation-only event shaping the future of business.—
Orianna Rosa Royle,
Fortune,
12 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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Hamas has not yet received the final list of Palestinian prisoners to be exchanged, a Palestinian source told the BBC.—
Callum Sutherland,
Time,
9 Oct. 2025
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Officials confirm that Taiwanese engineers and military planners are now in virtual working groups with Polish, Lithuanian, and Ukrainian counterparts, exchanging operational lessons in EW, C-UAS, and artillery fire direction.—
Kapil Kajal,
Interesting Engineering,
8 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Black-market.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/black-market. Accessed 16 Oct. 2025.
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