commodity

noun

com·​mod·​i·​ty kə-ˈmä-də-tē 

plural commodities

1

: an economic good: such as

a

: a product of agriculture or mining

agricultural commodities like grain and corn

b

: an article of commerce especially when delivered for shipment

reported the damaged commodities to officials

c

: a mass-produced unspecialized product

commodity chemicals

commodity memory chips

2

a

: something useful or valued

that valuable commodity, patience

also : thing, entity

b

: convenience, advantage

… the many commodities incidental to the life of a public office …

—Charles Lamb

3

: a good or service whose wide availability typically leads to smaller profit margins and diminishes the importance of factors (such as brand name) other than price

4

: one that is subject to ready exchange or exploitation within a market

… stars as individuals and as commodities of the film industry.

—Film Quarterly

5

obsolete : quantity, lot

Synonyms

• being
• entity
• existent
• individual
• individuality
• integer
• object
• reality
• something
• substance
• thing

Examples of commodity in a Sentence

agricultural commodities like grain and corn

Oil is a commodity in high demand.

Patience is a rare commodity.

Recent Examples on the Web

At the entrance to the gallery is a two-digital panel work modeled after Christie’s screens that appear at auction; on the screens play live valuations of various commodities with the design language and text mimicking that of the auction house. —Harrison Jacobs, ARTnews.com, 10 Feb. 2025

Framing Ja Rule as a softie and a crooner, 50 Cent had just tucked the artist’s chart-topping career into an eternal slumber in the mid-aughts Drake’s first five years as a Cash Money commodity dovetail with fallout from those sensibilities. —Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 7 Feb. 2025

The program, established during the 2023 Minnesota legislative session, seeks to assist new cooperatives in financing strategies for business development, with a focus on enhancing the production, processing, or marketing of agricultural commodities, products or services in Minnesota. —Janean Sorrell, Twin Cities, 6 Feb. 2025

The annual report also highlights the company's efforts to manage risks related to foreign currency exchange, interest rates, and commodity prices through various financial instruments. —Quartz Intelligence Newsroom, Quartz, 6 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English commoditee, from Anglo-French, from Latin commoditat-, commoditas, from commodus

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing commodity

• hot commodity

Kids Definition

commodity

noun

com·​mod·​i·​ty kə-ˈmäd-ət-ē 

plural commodities

1

: a product of agriculture or mining

2

: an article that is bought and sold in commerce

Legal Definition

commodity

noun

com·​mod·​i·​ty kə-ˈmä-də-tē 

plural commodities

: a class of economic goods

especially : an item of merchandise (as soybeans) whose price is the basis of futures trading