merchantable

adjective

mer·​chant·​able ˈmər-chən-tə-bəl How to pronounce merchantable (audio)
: of commercially acceptable quality : salable
merchantability noun

Examples of merchantable in a Sentence

a logging operation that strips an area of all of its trees, only a small percentage of which will yield merchantable timber
Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Qualifying timber must be merchantable, which is the market maker’s effort to ensure that offsets aren’t produced with trees that wouldn’t otherwise be cut. Ryan Dezember, WSJ, 26 May 2021 The beetle has devoured 18 million hectares of forest in British Columbia alone, killing 60 percent of its merchantable pine. Robinson Meyer, The Atlantic, 27 Apr. 2021 If only one percent of those logs escaped and somehow eluded beachcombers, that means 100 million board feet of merchantable timber became driftwood each year. Brian Payton, Smithsonian, 9 Feb. 2018 Today, the land for sale has what's estimated to be 2 million board feet of merchantable timber. Janet Eastman, OregonLive.com, 26 May 2017

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of merchantable was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near merchantable

Cite this Entry

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

Legal Definition

merchantable

adjective
mer·​chant·​able ˈmər-chən-tə-bəl How to pronounce merchantable (audio)
: of commercially acceptable quality : characterized by fitness for normal use, good quality, and accord with any statements or promises made on the packaging or label
merchantable goods
see also implied warranty and warranty of merchantability at warranty sense 2a
merchantability noun
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