as in trade
a system through which things are bought and sold illegally
The black market in prescription drugs is thriving. They unloaded the stolen goods on the black market.
Synonyms & Similar Words
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as in to smuggle
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of black market
Dario Sabaghi, Forbes, 23 Dec. 2024
The recent raid of a woman’s Tennessee home, where more than 300 vials fake weight loss drugs were found, sheds light on a growing concern across the country as the black market for such medicines explodes.
—Elizabeth Robinson, NBC News, 18 Dec. 2024
Jon Lee Anderson, The New Yorker, 2 Dec. 2024
The gap between the official and black-market exchange rates is widening.
—Carlos Valdez and Isabel Debre, Los Angeles Times, 27 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for black market 
Noun
The manifesto argues that the cannabis law has failed to reduce the black market, curb consumption, or prevent gang violence.
—Dario Sabaghi, Forbes, 23 Dec. 2024
The recent raid of a woman’s Tennessee home, where more than 300 vials fake weight loss drugs were found, sheds light on a growing concern across the country as the black market for such medicines explodes.
—Elizabeth Robinson, NBC News, 18 Dec. 2024
Verb
As people lost trust in banks, and in the peso, black-market U.S. dollars became the country’s semi-official currency; over time, Argentineans are thought to have stashed away some two hundred and seventy-seven billion dollars, possibly the largest cache outside the United States.
—Jon Lee Anderson, The New Yorker, 2 Dec. 2024
The gap between the official and black-market exchange rates is widening.
—Carlos Valdez and Isabel Debre, Los Angeles Times, 27 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for black market
Recent Examples of Synonyms for black market
Noun
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And trade czar Robert Lighthizer, who’s hinted at Trump 2.0 considering its own currency devaluation gambit.William Pesek, Forbes, 17 Jan. 2025
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January 17, 2025 The Blue Jays reportedly had $6.26 million to give Sasaki before the trade, the Dodgers $5.15 million.Yaakov Katz, Newsweek, 17 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Nosferatu — which has nabbed four Critics Choice Awards noms and landed on multiple Oscar shortlists — embodies horror’s ability to smuggle in its big ideas, making powerful arguments without overt reference to the background political realities.Eric Kohn, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Jan. 2025
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Across the street, the shelves of a small corner store look very different from only a few weeks ago, when shop owners had to smuggle foreign brands and hide them from most customers.Raja Abdulrahim, New York Times, 5 Jan. 2025
Noun
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And of the many unlicensed home care aides who work in gray market, many are immigrants, including many who are undocumented.Howard Gleckman, Forbes, 15 Jan. 2025
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There are also active gray markets on Chinese apps and e-commerce platforms in Southeast Asia, where popular and rare dolls sell at several times their original prices.Lionel Lim, Fortune Asia, 20 Dec. 2024
Verb
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With that in mind, expect many of the potential buyers who contact you to barter.Kristine Gill, Better Homes & Gardens, 27 Nov. 2024
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The old town medina is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and crowds jostle to examine products laid out in the streets and hear the sound of bartering in more languages than can be named.Elle Benson Easton, Travel + Leisure, 2 Nov. 2024
Noun
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The legal system is broken, and businesses can't take a chance on getting caught up in this quicksand.Tommy Tuberville, Newsweek, 9 Jan. 2025
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At an apparel level, the two do habitually converse—Coco Chanel launched her business making tennis dresses, and today’s athleisure has antecedents in Claire McCardell’s bodysuits and Y2K-era Prada Sport.Maya Singer, Vogue, 8 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Living in Woodstock, New York, Dylan spent a lot of time in nearby Saugerties at the Band’s famous Big Pink house, recording dozens of songs that were heavily bootlegged and sometimes sent to other artists to record.Al Shipley, SPIN, 25 Dec. 2024
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The quarterback can bootleg in and out of the perimeter of cameras, as the testing aims to simulate as many football movements as possible.Jourdan Rodrigue, The Athletic, 27 Aug. 2024
Noun
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While current data show that youth use remains low, the FDA is closely monitoring the marketplace and is committed to taking action, as appropriate, to best protect public health.Yaakov Katz, Newsweek, 17 Jan. 2025
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Movies such as 2015’s Crimson Peak ($31M domestic) and 2021’s Nightmare Alley ($11.3M) have struggled in finding theatrical crowds, the latter title largely a victim of skittish arthouse moviegoers during Covid, in addition to Spider-Man: No Way Home taking all the oxygen out the marketplace.Anthony D'Alessandro, Deadline, 16 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Dodgers reach deals at arbitration deadline Thursday was the Major League Baseball deadline for teams and arbitration-eligible players to agree to contracts before having to exchange figures for a potential arbitration hearing.Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 9 Jan. 2025
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The Biden administration has been in talks with the Taliban to exchange Americans detained in Afghanistan for Afghans in U.S. custody, a senior Taliban leader with direct knowledge of the negotiations told NBC News on Wednesday.Mushtaq Yusufzai, NBC News, 8 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near black market
Cite this Entry
“Black market.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/black%20market. Accessed 20 Jan. 2025.
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