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
Thomas Meaney, New Yorker, 2 July 2025
Maybe dinosaurs will become highly desirable black-market items for those seeking exotic pets or cutting-edge weapons.
—Keith Phipps, Vulture, 1 July 2025
Audrey Gibbs, The Tennessean, 14 Aug. 2025
Eventually, a black market emerged for resellers of the viral doll.
—India Brown, Robb Report, 13 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for black-market
Noun
At the ghetto wall, German soldiers shoot at Jewish children who had tunnelled beneath to find black-market exchanges.
—Thomas Meaney, New Yorker, 2 July 2025
Maybe dinosaurs will become highly desirable black-market items for those seeking exotic pets or cutting-edge weapons.
—Keith Phipps, Vulture, 1 July 2025
Verb
The movie, filmed in 2022, follows the story of a waitress and military veteran seeking a rare Lakota Ghost shirt, which has fallen onto the black market in a small town.
—Audrey Gibbs, The Tennessean, 14 Aug. 2025
Eventually, a black market emerged for resellers of the viral doll.
—India Brown, Robb Report, 13 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for black-market
Recent Examples of Synonyms for black-market
Noun
-
During peak times, trades can take minutes and cost more than $30, which is untenable for both retail users and professional traders.—
Sean Lee,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
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Looking at individual stocks, Watches of Switzerland jumped 8% in early trade following a trading update and a stock upgrade by Deutsche Bank.—
Chloe Taylor,Holly Ellyatt,
CNBC,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Federal agents stopped three boats that were en route to South Florida from the Bahamas and were smuggling large loads of cocaine and dozens of Chinese migrants last week, according to court documents.—
David Goodhue,
Miami Herald,
5 Sep. 2025
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Ten minutes from Stowe is Smugglers’ Notch State Park, named for the narrow pass in the Green Mountains through which Vermonters used to smuggle goods from Canada in the 1800s.—
Sophie Friedman,
AFAR Media,
4 Sep. 2025
Noun
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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
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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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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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Others, like pain points and thought leaders, seem like things that AI got from business buzzword dictionaries.—
John Werner,
Forbes.com,
7 Sep. 2025
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Its adtech business, which manages advertising on third-party websites, is not publicly broken out.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
6 Sep. 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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Like college coaches, social media gurus work their way through the ranks of the industry, and in an age where all eyeballs can attract revenues and sponsorships and ultimately, more money in the pockets of players and recruits in a competitive marketplace, Lazarus and his colleagues are valuable.—
Sean Gregory,
Time,
3 Sep. 2025
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Valdez Streaty suggests that last-minute shoppers compare offers across dealer websites and EV marketplaces.—
Susan Tompor,
Freep.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
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All four umpires form a circle and leave room for one representative from each team to exchange lineup cards.—
Chandler Rome,
New York Times,
4 Sep. 2025
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Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro (L) exchanges documents with Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) prior to the meeting with President of Russia, May 7, 2025 in Moscow, Russia.—
Robert Birsel
Shane Croucher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Black-market.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/black-market. Accessed 7 Sep. 2025.
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