merchandise

1 of 2

noun

mer·​chan·​dise ˈmər-chən-ˌdīz 

-ˌdīs

1

: the commodities or goods that are bought and sold in business : wares

sells a variety of spring merchandise

2

archaic : the occupation of a merchant : trade

merchandise

2 of 2

verb

mer·​chan·​dise ˈmər-chən-ˌdīz 

variants or less commonly merchandize

merchandised also merchandized; merchandising also merchandizing

transitive verb

1

: to buy and sell in business

carpets from Iran, India, or Taiwan are merchandised along with Italian leather goods and Spanish ceramics

—Irving Kolodin

2

: to promote for or as if for sale

merchandise a movie star

intransitive verb

archaic : to carry on commerce : trade

merchandiser noun

Synonyms

Noun

• commodities
• goods
• wares

Verb

• deal (in)
• market
• put up
• retail
• sell
• vend

Examples of merchandise in a Sentence

Noun

The merchandise will arrive by truck at noon.

He's developed his own brand of merchandise.

Verb

The political candidates are being merchandised to the public.

the now-familiar practice of stores merchandising goods at dramatically lower prices on the day after Thanksgiving

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Kmarts long had a reputation for clutter and mess, but this store is immaculate and the merchandise is precisely stacked and displayed. —Alena Botros, Fortune, 25 Oct. 2024

For example, food and beverage stores, the second largest sector, was up 2% to $739 billion, and number three general merchandise retailers rose 2.8% to $658 billion. —Pamela N. Danziger, Forbes, 25 Oct. 2024

Verb

Retailers do have opportunities, like end caps and merchandising events, to feature smaller brands, but these brands usually don’t have the big budgets that multinationals do. —Christopher Marquis, Forbes, 7 Oct. 2024

Lisa Roath, Target’s chief marketing officer, will take on the role of chief merchandising officer of food, essentials and beauty in early 2025. —Alexandra Harrell, Sourcing Journal, 3 Sep. 2019

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Verb

Middle English marchaundise, from Anglo-French marchandise, from marcheant

First Known Use

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Kids Definition

merchandise

1 of 2 noun

mer·​chan·​dise ˈmər-chən-ˌdīz 

-ˌdīs

: the goods that are bought and sold in trade

merchandise

2 of 2 verb

ˈmər-chən-ˌdīz

merchandised; merchandising

: to buy and sell : trade

especially : to try to improve sales of goods or services by attractive presentation and publicity

merchandiser noun