market (markets plural & 3rd person present) (marketing present participle) (marketed past tense & past participle )
1 n-count A market is a place where goods are bought and sold, usually outdoors.
He sold boots on a market stall.
2 n-count The market for a particular type of thing is the number of people who want to buy it, or the area of the world in which it is sold. (BUSINESS) usu sing, with supp, oft N for/in n
The foreign market was increasingly crucial., ...the Russian market for personal computers...
3 n-sing The market refers to the total amount of a product that is sold each year, especially when you are talking about the competition between the companies who sell that product. (BUSINESS) the N
The two big companies control 72% of the market.
4 adj If you talk about a market economy, or the market price of something, you are referring to an economic system in which the prices of things depend on how many are available and how many people want to buy them, rather than prices being fixed by governments. (BUSINESS) ADJ n
Their ultimate aim was a market economy for Hungary..., He must sell the house for the current market value., ...the market price of cocoa.
5 verb To market a product means to organize its sale, by deciding on its price, where it should be sold, and how it should be advertised. (BUSINESS)
...if you marketed our music the way you market pop music... V n
...if a soap is marketed as an anti-acne product. be V-ed as n
6 n-sing The job market or the labour market refers to the people who are looking for work and the jobs available for them to do. (BUSINESS) the n N
Every year, 250,000 people enter the job market., ...the changes in the labour market during the 1980s.
7 n-sing The stock market is sometimes referred to as the market. (BUSINESS) the N
The market collapsed last October.
8
→
black market
→
market forces
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open market
9 If you say that it is a buyer's market, you mean that it is a good time to buy a particular thing, because there is a lot of it available, so its price is low. If you say that it is a seller's market, you mean that very little of it is available, so its price is high. (BUSINESS)
a buyer's/seller's market phrase v-link PHR
Don't be afraid to haggle: for the moment, it's a buyer's market...
10 If you are in the market for something, you are interested in buying it.
in the market for something phrase v-link PHR, PHR n
If you're in the market for a new radio, you'll see that the latest models are very different.
11 If something is on the market, it is available for people to buy. If it comes onto the market, it becomes available for people to buy. (BUSINESS)
on the market phrase v-link PHR, PHR after v
...putting more empty offices on the market., ...new medicines that have just come onto the market.
12 If you price yourself out of the market, you try to sell goods or services at a higher price than other people, with the result that no one buys them from you. (BUSINESS)
price yourself out of the market phrase V inflects At £150,000 for a season, he really is pricing himself out of the market.
bear market (bear markets plural )A bear market is a situation on the stock market when people are selling a lot of shares because they expect that the shares will decrease in value and that they will be able to make a profit by buying them again after a short time. Compare bull market. (BUSINESS) n-count
(Antonym: bull market)
black market (black markets plural )If something is bought or sold on theblack market, it is bought or sold illegally. n-count
There is a plentiful supply of arms on the black market.
bull market (bull markets plural )A bull market is a situation on the stock market when people are buying a lot of shares because they expect that the shares will increase in value and that they will be able to make a profit by selling them again after a short time. Compare bear market. (BUSINESS) n-count
buyer's market
When there is a buyer's market for a particular product, there are more of the products for sale than there are people who want to buy them, so buyers have a lot of choice and can make prices come down. (BUSINESS) n-sing
cattle market (cattle markets plural )
1 n-count A cattle market is a market where cattle are bought and sold.
2 n-count If you refer to an event such as a disco or a beauty contest as a cattle market, you disapprove of it because women are considered there only in terms of their sexual attractiveness., (disapproval)
common market (common markets plural )
1 n-count A common market is an organization of countries who have agreed to trade freely with each other and make common decisions about industry and agriculture. (BUSINESS)
...the Central American Common Market.
2 n-proper The Common Market is the former name of the European Union. Some people still refer to the European Union as the Common Market.
the N
farmers' market (farmers' markets plural ), farmers market A farmers' market is a market where food growers sell their produce directly to the public. n-count
flea market (flea markets plural )A flea market is an outdoor market which sells cheap used goods and sometimes also very old furniture. n-count
free market (free markets plural )A free market is an economic system in which business organizations decide things such as prices and wages, and are not controlled by the government. (BUSINESS) n-count usu sing
...the creation of a free market., ...free market economies.
grey market (grey markets plural )
in AM, use gray market
1 n-sing Grey market goods are bought unofficially and then sold to customers at lower prices than usual. (BUSINESS) oft N n, the N
Grey-market perfumes and toiletries are now commonly sold by mail.
2 n-sing Grey market shares are sold to investors before they have been officially issued. (BUSINESS) oft N n, the N
At one point last week shares in the grey market touched 230p.
labour market (labour markets plural )When you talk about thelabour market, you are referring to all the people who are able to work and want jobs in a country or area, in relation to the number of jobs there are available in that country or area. (BUSINESS) n-count usu sing
The longer people have been unemployed, the harder it is for them to compete in the labour market.
market forces
When politicians and economists talk about market forces, they mean the economic factors that affect the availability of goods and the demand for them, without any help or control by governments. (BUSINESS) n-plural
...opening the economy to market forces and increasing the role of private enterprise.
market garden (market gardens plural )A market garden is a small farm where vegetables and fruit are grown for sale.
(mainly BRIT) n-count
in AM, use truck farm
market leader (market leaders plural )A market leader is a company that sells more of a particular product or service than most of its competitors do. (BUSINESS) n-count
We are becoming one of the market leaders in the fashion industry.
market research
Market research is the activity of collecting and studying information about what people want, need, and buy. (BUSINESS) n-uncount
A new all-woman market research company has been set up to find out what women think about major news and issues.
market share (market shares plural )A company's market share in a product is the proportion of the total sales of that product that is produced by that company. (BUSINESS) n-var oft with poss
Ford has been gaining market share this year at the expense of GM.
market test (market tests plural & 3rd person present) (market testing present participle) (market tested past tense & past participle )
1 n-count If a company carries out a market test, it asks a group of people to try a new product or service and give their opinions on it. (BUSINESS)
Results from market tests in the US and Europe show little enthusiasm for the product.
2 verb If a new product or service is market tested, a group of people are asked to try it and then asked for their opinions on it. (BUSINESS)
The company uses the simulator to market test new designs. V n
market testing n-uncount
They learnt a lot from the initial market testing exercise.
market town (market towns plural )A market town is a town, especially in a country area, that has or used to have a market in it. n-count
mass market (mass markets plural )
1 n-count Mass market is used to refer to the large numbers of people who want to buy a particular product. (BUSINESS)
They now have access to the mass markets of Japan and the UK.
2 adj Mass-market products are designed and produced for selling to large numbers of people. (BUSINESS) ADJ n
...mass-market paperbacks.
money market (money markets plural )A country's money market consists of all the banks and other organizations that deal with short-term loans, capital, and foreign exchange. (BUSINESS) n-count
On the money markets the dollar was weaker against European currencies.
open market
Goods that are bought and sold on the open market are advertised and sold to anyone who wants to buy them. (BUSINESS) n-sing the N
The Central Bank is authorized to sell government bonds on the open market.
seller's market
When there is a seller's market for a particular product, there are fewer of the products for sale than people who want to buy them, so buyers have little choice and prices go up. (BUSINESS) n-sing
stock market (stock markets plural )The stock market consists of the general activity of buying stocks and shares, and the people and institutions that organize it. (BUSINESS) n-count the N
The company's shares promptly fell by 300 lire on the stock market.
target market (target markets plural )A target market is a market in which a company is trying to sell its products or services. (BUSINESS) n-count
We decided that we needed to change our target market from the over-45s to the 35-45s.
