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

The rising price of oil created a black market for grease, and as noted in a 2008 New York Times article, restaurant grease thefts have spiked; the article opened with the story of a man who stole 300 gallons of grease from a Burger King. — Dan Snierson, Entertainment Weekly, 16 June 2026 These smugglers charge thousands of euros a person and often force their passengers into prostitution or other forms of black market labor by withholding their documents to pay off the debt. — ABC News, 12 June 2026

Verb

The ongoing investigation, led by Reisig, is sprawling, involving dozens of search warrants and arrests in Los Angeles County and Crescent City aimed at piercing the black-market world of fireworks that fueled the blast. — Joe Rubin, Sacbee.com, 20 Mar. 2026 Superfakes is about a small-time Chinatown luxury counterfeit dealer who enters a dangerous black-market underworld in order to fund a life of suburban respectability for her family. — Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 18 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for black market

Recent Examples of Synonyms for black market

Noun

While the stocks outlined in Tuesday's note were broadly European firms, the authors stressed that the HALO trade was an international trend.

— Chloe Taylor, CNBC, 8 July 2026
And as a member of the European Union, it can’t be singled out in trade measures.

— Ivana Kottasová, CNN Money, 8 July 2026

Definition of trade

Verb

That lifelong partnership was born aboard a cruise ship in 1959; Fischbacher was a steward and a part-time magician on the Bremen, while Roy Horn, an animal lover who would later smuggle a cheetah on board for a magic act, worked as a bellboy.

— Katie Schultz, Architectural Digest, 9 July 2026
According to New York investigators, the vase was smuggled out of Italy by Fritz Burki and consigned for sale at Christie’s London before entering the museum’s collection.

— Tessa Solomon, ARTnews.com, 9 July 2026

Definition of smuggle

Noun

That visibility has fueled a parallel gray market.

— Allison Palmer Updated June 24, Charlotte Observer, 24 June 2026
Crypto-tracing firm Chainalysis this week published an analysis of crypto flows to peptide sellers, a gray market that the company now measures at more than $100 million a year and growing.

— Andy Greenberg, Wired News, 6 June 2026

Definition of gray market

Verb

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
Fromage fest One of the oldest cheese shops in Paris, Fromagerie La Fontaine has been bartering its bries and bleus since 1890.

— Mary Winston Nicklin, Condé Nast Traveler, 1 June 2026

Definition of barter

Noun

The measure aims to prevent businesses from offering different prices for shoppers based on personal information that is collected using tracking technology or other surveillance electronic tools, unless the businesses follow certain rules.

— Stephen Hobbs, Sacbee.com, 11 July 2026
The upstairs rooms became residences, while downstairs spaces were rented to small businesses.

— Michael Goldstein, Forbes.com, 11 July 2026

Definition of business

Verb

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
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

Definition of bootleg

Noun

For Friday’s clash between Spain and Belgium, prices have plunged 65%, according to TickPick, a secondary ticket marketplace.

— Ben Church, CNN Money, 10 July 2026
Expert in healthcare policy, Celine Gounder, notes that healthier consumers are leaving the marketplace.

— Joshua P. Cohen, Forbes.com, 10 July 2026

Definition of marketplace

Verb

An autonomous logistics platform may need to exchange live telemetry between factories, vehicles, weather systems, inventory databases and financial software simultaneously.

— Ivo Ivanov, Forbes.com, 10 July 2026
The lawyers also requested that the state and federal governments preserve all evidence related to use-of-force incidents, including all video footage, incident reports, and messages exchanged among staff during the incident.

— Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 10 July 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 12 Jul. 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

fulcrum

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

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

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Popular in Wordplay

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 10

Popular

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

Games & Quizzes