mercantilism

noun

mer·​can·​til·​ism ˈmər-kən-ˌtē-ˌli-zəm How to pronounce mercantilism (audio)
-ˌtī-,
-tə-
1
: the theory or practice of mercantile pursuits : commercialism
2
: an economic system developing during the decay of feudalism to unify and increase the power and especially the monetary wealth of a nation by a strict governmental regulation of the entire national economy usually through policies designed to secure an accumulation of bullion (see bullion sense 1), a favorable balance of trade, the development of agriculture and manufactures, and the establishment of foreign trading monopolies (see monopoly sense 1)
mercantilist
ˈmər-kən-ˌtē-list How to pronounce mercantilism (audio)
-ˌtī-
-tə-
noun or adjective
mercantilistic adjective

Examples of mercantilism in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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As the foreign policy expert Wess Mitchell has recently argued, the United States needs to create a unified front against Chinese mercantilism. Nadia Schadlow, Foreign Affairs, 9 Oct. 2024 Through mercantilism and colonization, Europeans sought natural resources abroad in order to increase their power at home. Kathleen Duval, The Atlantic, 2 Apr. 2024 Purveyors of the myth that free trade is always good and more is always better are eager to dismiss the havoc wreaked by the introduction of China’s aggressive mercantilism into the global market as an outlier or the exception that proves the rule. Oren Cass, Foreign Affairs, 12 Feb. 2021 Smith’s book, published in 1776, meant to oppose a prevalent economic strategy in eighteenth-century Britain—the nationalist and protectionist system of mercantilism—by explaining how free trade and the division of labor create more national wealth. Louis Menand, The New Yorker, 17 July 2023 See all Example Sentences for mercantilism 

Word History

First Known Use

1838, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of mercantilism was in 1838

Dictionary Entries Near mercantilism

Cite this Entry

“Mercantilism.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mercantilism. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.

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