BLACK-MARKET Synonyms: 53 Similar and Opposite Words

black market 1 of 2

noun

Definition of black market

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.

Related Words

Relevance

black-market

2 of 2

verb

as in to smuggle

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

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

Some 10 billion liters of black market fuel were seized at that time in Tamaulipas. — CBS News, 28 Aug. 2026 The iconic insect-eating plants are native to remote parts of coastal North and South Carolina, and are a popular target of poaching for the global black market. — Mark Price, Charlotte Observer, 20 Aug. 2026

Verb

An investigation by the National Post reported a price drop of 70 percent or more for black-market pills in cities that had instituted safer supply. — Michael Powell, The Atlantic, 30 July 2026 Together, those accounts represent nearly $220 million in potential black-market sales, with threat actors increasing both the number of accounts offered and their asking prices as demand for matches grows. — Tatiana Sataua, Fortune, 18 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for black market

Recent Examples of Synonyms for black market

Noun

Yet the superpowers have taken sharply different approaches to trade policy with Pretoria.

— Alexis Akwagyiram, semafor.com, 21 Sep. 2026
Airlines for America, the trade association that represents the major airlines in Washington, praised the FAA's push to modernize the nation's flight management tools.

— Joel Rose, NPR, 21 Sep. 2026

Definition of trade

Verb

Initially indicted only for alleged money laundering, he has since been accused by federal prosecutors of conspiring to smuggle cocaine on the high seas and narco-terrorism.

— Senior Editor, Los Angeles Times, 23 Sep. 2026
In early 2025, federal agents intercepted several boats smuggling Chinese nationals to South Florida from the Bahamas, and one boat made it to shore, offloading 26 people from China in Coral Gables.

— David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 22 Sep. 2026

Definition of smuggle

Noun

Suppliers on the gray market can include compounding pharmacies, med spas, and telehealth companies.

— Kara McGrath, Allure, 15 Sep. 2026
The Biden administration’s absolute restriction on peptides resulted in Americans turning to the gray market without being properly educated.

— Robert Pearl, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026

Definition of gray market

Verb

In the second-season finale, some time after Aemond had killed Rhaenyra’s son Luke, Alicent arrives in secret to Dragonstone to barter Aegon’s life in exchange for peace, and safety in particular for her daughter (and Aegon’s wife) Helaena.

— Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 10 Aug. 2026
Through three tedious roll calls, Roosevelt forces bartered with delegations and finally put their man over the top on the fourth try when House Speaker John Nance Garner folded his candidacy in exchange for the vice presidential nomination.

— Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 6 June 2026

Definition of barter

Noun

That had included entrepreneurship support for small business owners, assessing the state of Connecticut’s Black businesses and creating new programs for teaching financial literacy.

— P.R. Lockhart, Hartford Courant, 26 Sep. 2026
Nigeria has faced high inflation in the three years since the removal of fuel subsidies raised costs for households and businesses.

— Alexander Onukwue, semafor.com, 25 Sep. 2026

Definition of business

Verb

After the songs were bootlegged for years, Coe began selling them on his website in 2000, though without his name on them.

— Victoria Edel, PEOPLE, 30 Apr. 2026
With Dallas leading 27-21 and San Francisco driving late in the fourth quarter, Joe Montana and the 49ers lined up in a split formation, with Montana bootlegging out to the right upon taking the snap.

— R.J. Coyle, Dallas Morning News, 25 Jan. 2026

Definition of bootleg

Noun

In a year, Chinese models’ global usage skyrocketed from less than 15% to over 54% last week, led by DeepSeek, according to AI leaderboard data by OpenRouter, a marketplace for models.

— John Liu, CNN Money, 26 Sep. 2026
Nicole Bachaud, labor economist at online employment marketplace ZipRecruiter, is seeing salaries even higher for more specialized, high skill roles.

— Kevin Williams, CNBC, 26 Sep. 2026

Definition of marketplace

Verb

Before committing, look at what is actually being exchanged rather than what everyone hopes will happen.

— Tarot.com, Baltimore Sun, 25 Sep. 2026
Instead, implants exchange simple signals, such as whether a particular condition has been detected or whether an action should be triggered.

— Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 25 Sep. 2026

Definition of exchange

Browse Nearby Words

blackmails

black market

black-market

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Black market.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/black%20market. Accessed 28 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of black market

noun

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster on black market

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

fungible

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Popular in Wordplay

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes