Meaning & use
black market
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Meanings
nounsingular
Illegal buying and selling of goods or currency, outside official rules and often at inflated prices.
Grammar: Usually singular with the: on the black market; also used before a noun: black-market goods.
Patterns
- on the black market
- sell something on the black market
- a black-market trade in something
During the war, sugar was sold on the black market at ten times the normal price.
Tickets for the concert quickly appeared on the black market.
The police closed down a black market in stolen phones.
nounsingularfigurativeinformal
Any hidden or unofficial trade, whether or not it is strictly criminal, in things that are scarce or restricted.
Grammar: Often figurative and used loosely: a black market for exam answers.
Patterns
- a black market for something
A black market for scarce medicines grew during the shortage.
Students started a small black market for lecture notes.
Rationing led to a thriving black market in coffee.
Word forms
| plural | black markets |
|---|
Common combinations
- on the black market
- The painting turned up on the black market.
- black-market goods
- Customs officers seized black-market goods worth thousands.
- black market price
- The black market price of fuel doubled overnight.
- thriving black market
- A thriving black market appeared as shops ran out of food.
- black market trade
- The black market trade in ivory is hard to stop.
- buy on the black market
- Some fans buy on the black market and pay far too much.
Synonyms and how they differ
- underground economy
- Underground economy covers all unreported economic activity, including hidden wages, so it is wider than black market.
- illicit trade
- Illicit trade is a formal phrase for illegal trade and does not suggest high prices or scarcity.
- grey market
- Grey market describes trade that is unofficial but not strictly illegal, which is a milder case than black market.
- bootlegging
- Bootlegging refers especially to illegal copies or alcohol, so it is narrower than black market.
Opposites
Word family
- black marketeer noun
- a person who trades in illegal goods
- market noun
- a place or system for buying and selling
- marketeer noun
- a person who sells goods or promotes a system
- black-market adjective
- relating to illegal trade, as in black-market goods
Commonly confused: black market or flea market?
black market vs flea market
A flea market is a legal outdoor market selling second-hand goods, so it has nothing to do with illegal trade.
Practice
When the government capped petrol prices, drivers started buying fuel on the ___ at much higher cost.
Choose one answer.
Buying outside official rules at inflated prices describes the black market. A flea market is legal and sells second-hand goods, which is the tempting wrong answer.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “black market”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.