free market

noun

plural free markets

: an economic system in which prices are based on competition among private businesses and are not controlled or regulated by a government : a market (see market entry 1 sense 4d) operating by free competition

… the free market works best when businesses compete to provide the best services …

—Chris Tomlinson

A free market, technically, requires no government intervention, which is why capitalists usually land on the right of the political spectrum. In America, the government regulates businesses for reasons of social welfare and public safety …, so we don't operate in a truly free market.

—Carolyn Twersky

—often hyphenated when used before another noun

free-market competition

free-market principles

One of the basic premises of the free-market system is that actors are free to buy from or sell to a variety of other actors.

—Barry C. Lynn

Examples of free market in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The chart below shows the decline in pricing for free market buildings in Manhattan below 96th Street over the past decade. —Shimon Shkury, Forbes, 13 Sep. 2024

Even now, as many countries are raising trade barriers, Vietnam remains a communist champion of free markets. —Ruchir Sharma, Foreign Affairs, 17 Sep. 2024

No country has unfettered free markets that meet the ideals of strict libertarians. —Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 15 Sep. 2024

The industry worked to push its products onto consumers through a system of generous public subsidies, regulatory capture, and an agricultural policy focused on flooding the market with cheap meat and dairy — all while keeping up the sacred American illusion of a free market. —Crystal Heath, Vox, 9 Aug. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1642, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

free market

noun

: an economic market operating by free competition