What does "market" mean?
A gathering of people for the purchase and sale of merchandise, often periodic at a set time.
Market
/ˈmɑɹkɪt/ name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A gathering of people for the purchase and sale of merchandise, often periodic at a set time.
- Grammar: market is listed as name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: marketplace, mart, advertise, advertised.
- Useful contrasts: buy, civil society, conceal.
- Usage evidence: Did you buy it on the black market?
How to use "market"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "market" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "market" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "market" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "market" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "market" is acting as name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "marketplace" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "market", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A gathering of people for the purchase and sale of merchandise, often periodic at a set time.
"The right to hold a weekly market was an invaluable privilege not given to all towns in the Middle Ages."
- 2 the world of commercial activity where goods and services are bought and sold wordnet
- 3 A relatively spacious outdoor or covered site where traders set up stalls, either temporarily or permanently or semi-permanently, and buyers browse the merchandise.
"This site on North Street used to be the market, until it was redeveloped."
- 4 a marketplace where groceries are sold wordnet
- 5 Any physical store selling groceries, such as a grocery store or convenience store.
"Stop by the market on your way home and pick up some milk."
Show 8 more definitions
- 6 an area in a town where a public mercantile establishment is set up wordnet
- 7 A group of potential or current customers for one's product.
"We believe that the market for the new widget will be the older homeowner."
- 8 the securities markets in the aggregate wordnet
- 9 A geographical area or region where a certain commercial demand exists.
"Foreign markets were lost as our currency rose versus their valuta."
- 10 the customers for a particular product or service wordnet
- 11 A formally organized, sometimes monopolistic, system of trading in specified goods or effects.
"The stock market ceased to be monopolized by the paper-shuffling national stock exchanges with the advent of Internet markets."
- 12 The sum total traded in a process of individuals trading for certain commodities.
- 13 The price for which a thing is sold in a market; hence, value or worth; market value.
"Q: What's the market on such a thing, nowadays? A: Oh, no less than forty, I should reckon."
Verb
- 1 To make (products or services) available for sale and promote them. transitive
"We plan to market an ecology model by next quarter."
- 2 make commercial wordnet
- 3 To promote for or as if for sale. transitive
"However, the intention here is not to market any particular belief, but rather to catalyze people to think more about life after death and its meaning in the face of grief and loss."
- 4 engage in the commercial promotion, sale, or distribution of wordnet
- 5 To sell. transitive
"We marketed more this quarter already than all last year!"
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 deal in a market wordnet
- 7 To deal in a market; to buy or sell; to make bargains for provisions or goods. intransitive
- 8 buy household supplies wordnet
- 9 To shop in a market; to attend a market. intransitive
"We did a little shopping; but I cannot remember much of the town. It was Saturday night, and all Perth was marketing."
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Example
"Did you buy it on the black market?"
Common questions
What is a synonym for "market"?
Common synonyms include: marketplace, mart, advertise, advertised, advertises, agora.
How do you use "market" in a sentence?
Did you buy it on the black market?
How do you pronounce "market"?
Pronounced /ˈmɑɹkɪt/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English market, from late Old English market (“market”) and Anglo-Norman markiet (Old French marchié); all ultimately from Latin mercātus (“trade, market”), from mercor (“I trade, deal in, buy”), itself derived from merx (“wares, merchandise”). Cognate with West Frisian merk, Dutch markt, Old High German Markt.
Etymology 2
Topographic surname for someone who lived by a market.