marketplace

noun

mar·​ket·​place ˈmär-kət-ˌplās 

1

a

: an open square or place in a town where markets or public sales are held

b

: market

the marketplace is the interpreter of supply and demand

2

: the world of trade or economic activity : the everyday world

3

: a sphere in which intangible values compete for acceptance

the marketplace of ideas

Synonyms

• business
• commerce
• trade
• traffic

Examples of marketplace in a Sentence

Their products must compete in the marketplace.

The company has struggled to survive in a rapidly changing marketplace.

Recent Examples on the Web

According to Salesforce’s November 2024 Consumer Sentiment Survey, 37% of those not buying from Chinese marketplaces cited payment security concerns as their primary reason for hesitation. —Kiri Masters, Forbes.com, 23 Apr. 2025

Apple was issued with a €500 million ($571 million) fine over its App Store, with the commission saying the company must freely offer alternative app marketplaces to users and app developers. —Alex Ritman, Variety, 23 Apr. 2025

In partnership with other churches, marketplaces opened in Chicago, Dallas, Houston and New York. —Auzinea Bacon, CNN Money, 21 Apr. 2025

The presumption has been that the way to protect freedom of speech is through a deregulated marketplace, and speech on social media platforms is no exception. —Michael Gregory, The Conversation, 17 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for marketplace

• aerospace
• anatase
• anyplace
• commonplace
• cyberspace
• database
• diabase
• diastase
• dnase
• elastase
• fireplace
• hyperspace

Kids Definition

marketplace

noun

mar·​ket·​place ˈmär-kət-ˌplās 

1

: an open square or place in a town where markets are held

2

: the world of trade

Legal Definition

marketplace

noun

mar·​ket·​place ˈmär-kət-ˌplās 

: the economic system through which different companies compete with each other to sell their products