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

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

And for several decades, conservatives in the pursuit of free market goals have advocated increasing the role of the private sector in American weather forecasting. —

Camille Baker, New York Times, 8 Feb. 2025 Manipulating the retail and restaurant markets gives an unfair competitive advantage over our current stock of great retail and restaurants created by the free market supply and demand model of capitalism without taxpayer subsidies. —

Matt Lehman, Twin Cities, 8 Feb. 2025 And that really runs counter to decades and decades of free market thinking that has historically been the driving force of the Republican Party. —

Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 6 Feb. 2025 The bull case: Less regulation and more free market economics, resulting in less scrutiny on deals overall. —

Jim Cramer, CNBC, 4 Feb. 2025 See all Example Sentences for free market