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
Phil Wahba, Fortune, 22 Sep. 2024
This data can be sold on the black market or used in identity theft schemes.
—Alexei Dulub, Forbes, 18 Sep. 2024
Cnn.com Wire Service, The Mercury News, 31 Aug. 2024
This priority is so all-consuming that even the already reed-like Kristina seeks dangerous extra credit, dumping her dinners outside her bedroom window, and procuring a black-market tapeworm to further hollow out her insides.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 17 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for black market 
Noun
He was allegedly involved in black market sales during World War II.
—Phil Wahba, Fortune, 22 Sep. 2024
This data can be sold on the black market or used in identity theft schemes.
—Alexei Dulub, Forbes, 18 Sep. 2024
Verb
The dynamic in Antioch is a microcosm of greater California, where lax laws on black-market weed are doing little to change the state’s status as a gargantuan producer of it.
—Cnn.com Wire Service, The Mercury News, 31 Aug. 2024
This priority is so all-consuming that even the already reed-like Kristina seeks dangerous extra credit, dumping her dinners outside her bedroom window, and procuring a black-market tapeworm to further hollow out her insides.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 17 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for black market
Recent Examples of Synonyms for black market
Noun
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In 2023, China accounted for 98 percent of North Korea’s official trade volume.Sungmin Cho, Foreign Affairs, 12 Nov. 2024
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At 4-4, but with a Super Bowl window that the team believes is still wide open, the Niners made no major additions at the NFL trade deadline, adding only a depth defensive tackle (for a seventh-round draft pick two years from now).Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 9 Nov. 2024
Verb
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Now, the nonprofit is also using the cat-size rodents to smell their way through the crafty disguises employed by wildlife traffickers looking to smuggle ivory, pangolin scales and rhino horns.Ashley Strickland, CNN, 2 Nov. 2024
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Last year, a pair of men in Hong Kong used shipments of live lobsters to smuggle out Nvidia GPUs.Michael Kan, PCMAG, 1 Nov. 2024
Noun
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Of course, some gray markets use bitcoin in the West, too, where industries may be legal, but the banks frown on them, like marijuana sales in some states and countries and things like that.Steven Ehrlich, Forbes, 1 Nov. 2024
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Sans introduced the elephant in the room — the gray market — which has fueled revenues for independent retailers for the past 10 years.Martino Carrera, WWD, 3 Sep. 2019
Verb
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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
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But states such as India and Egypt rejected the legitimacy of the UN embargo, and Beijing was able to barter (often on disadvantageous terms) with countries such as Indonesia and Sri Lanka in order to avoid isolation.Timothy Nunan, Foreign Affairs, 10 Oct. 2017
Noun
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The company intends to raise additional funds through public or private offerings to support its operations and business plan.Quartz Bot, Quartz, 15 Nov. 2024
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Nearly 250 homes and businesses were damaged or destroyed by ravaging flames and smoke.Kristin Shaw, Popular Science, 14 Nov. 2024
Verb
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This was the era of Prohibition, dominated by bootlegging gangsters—Chicago alone was said to be home to 1,300 gangs—and some police departments adopted increasingly brutal tactics to wring the truth out of suspects: beating and burning detainees with cigarettes, or depriving them of sleep.Susan Saulny, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Oct. 2024
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Land of the Free, Home of the Bootleggers When technology made music mobile, the American South changed from one type of bootlegging industry to another: copying and selling records.JSTOR Daily, JSTOR Daily, 24 June 2024
Noun
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The filing also highlights Upstart's efforts to manage risks associated with its loan portfolio, including credit risk and interest rate fluctuations, to ensure the stability and growth of its marketplace.Quartz Bot, Quartz, 8 Nov. 2024
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Customer relationships are at risk if designs, specs and order details are leaked, while exposing details about plant efficiency or other KPIs can put companies at a disadvantage in the marketplace.Chris Turlica, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2024
Verb
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The independent investigators also reported that Welby and Smyth crossed paths at Christian holiday camps run by a British trust from 1975 to 1979 and exchanged Christmas cards for several years.Hannah Peart, NBC News, 12 Nov. 2024
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The company’s at-home kits allow customers to exchange a saliva sample for insights into their genome relating to things such as their possible ancestry, health, and food preferences.Bruce Gil, Quartz, 12 Nov. 2024
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 25 Nov. 2024.
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