1
as in marketplace
the buying and selling of goods especially on a large scale and between different places a government agency in charge of regulating interstate commerce

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in interaction
doings between individuals or groups when I was doing outside consulting for the company, I never had much commerce with the in-house staff

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

3

Synonym Chooser

How is the word commerce distinct from other similar nouns?

Some common synonyms of commerce are business, industry, trade, and traffic. While all these words mean "activity concerned with the supplying and distribution of commodities," commerce and trade imply the exchange and transportation of commodities.

When might business be a better fit than commerce?

The meanings of business and commerce largely overlap; however, business may be an inclusive term but specifically designates the activities of those engaged in the purchase or sale of commodities or in related financial transactions.

Where would industry be a reasonable alternative to commerce?

The words industry and commerce are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, industry applies to the producing of commodities, especially by manufacturing or processing, usually on a large scale.

When would traffic be a good substitute for commerce?

The synonyms traffic and commerce are sometimes interchangeable, but traffic applies to the operation and functioning of public carriers of goods and persons.

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 commerce In the Federal Baseball case of 1922, the Supreme Court infamously ruled that baseball was not interstate commerce and therefore was exempt from antitrust scrutiny. Chris Deubert, Forbes, 7 Mar. 2025 Embassies house officers from the military, intelligence, law enforcement, health, commerce, trade, treasury and other agencies, all of whom monitor developments in the host nation and work with local officials to counter everything from terrorism to infectious disease to collapsing currencies. arkansasonline.com, 7 Mar. 2025 And studio executives really are the inflection point between the show and the business and between art and commerce. Samantha Bergeson, IndieWire, 7 Mar. 2025 And the brands operating at the center of this ecosystem are helping shape the conversation around the design trends impacting both culture and commerce. Bill Connolly, Rolling Stone, 5 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for commerce
Recent Examples of Synonyms for commerce
Noun
  • The marketplace is structured into vertical-specific segments that include dedicated spaces for advertising services, live events, animation and VFX, extended reality technologies, film projects, game development, radio and podcasting, comics and e-books, web series, and music and sound design.
    Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 29 Mar. 2025
  • One major scene in Season 5 shows Jesus entering the temple marketplace and overturning the tables of the buyers, sellers, and money changers.
    Monica Mercuri, Forbes.com, 28 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • Whether these machines will ultimately become our helpful companions or raise concerns about the future of human-robot interactions remains to be seen.
    Kurt Knutsson, CyberGuy Report, Fox News, 23 Mar. 2025
  • The interaction between Briony and Jamie starts off amiably, with Jamie needling Briony for her posh affectations.
    Doreen St. Félix, The New Yorker, 22 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • These sexes are not changeable and are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality.
    Paul Du Quenoy, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Mar. 2025
  • In January, President Donald Trump signed an executive order saying the U.S. would recognize only two sexes, male and female.
    Deon J. Hampton, NBC news, 27 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • Canada responded by announcing retaliatory tariffs on billions of dollars worth of American goods, though the trade war threatens to plunge Canada’s economy into a recession.
    Samantha Delouya, CNN Money, 30 Mar. 2025
  • But Ukraine has already carved out a trade route requiring ships to sail near its coast guided by the Ukrainian Navy, thus already re-establishing its main grain export route and trade to near pre-war levels.
    Ron Estes, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • Waging war on Denmark is wrong and will damage U.S. defense and foreign relations for decades We Americans should be ashamed of ourselves and of our government.
    Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 29 Mar. 2025
  • Her trip comes amid a souring in relations between the Trump administration and the Colombian government, which has long been the United States' closest ally in the region.
    Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 28 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • American society and our relations with other societies are driven by the competition/conflict choice.
    Letters to the Editor, Orlando Sentinel, 4 Jan. 2025
  • Insiders describe relations between her and brother Santo as tense and combative.
    Mattia Dognini, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Jan. 2025
Noun
  • The Army Corps scheduled debris clearance for all the homes at the same time, and installed K rail to block off a lane of the Pacific Coast Highway, allowing debris trucks and heavy equipment to access the properties without blocking traffic.
    Laura J. Nelson, Los Angeles Times, 28 Mar. 2025
  • Locals also have grown increasingly tired of the influx of people to their small town, with public transportation being co-opted and traffic inundating what is commonly an already busy time with peak ski season.
    Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 27 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • In the recent study, three of the couples reported using condoms during intercourse, and their sexome analysis still revealed that the microbial transfer was not completely blocked.
    Margherita Bassi, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 Feb. 2025
  • Fertility awareness methods: Natural family planning techniques involve tracking the menstrual cycle to avoid intercourse during fertile days.
    Lindsay Curtis, Verywell Health, 14 Jan. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Commerce.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/commerce. Accessed 2 Apr. 2025.

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