Meaning & use
local market
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Meanings
nouncountable
A market in a particular town or area where local people buy and sell food and other goods.
Grammar: Countable: a local market, the local markets. Often used with the definite article when both speaker and listener know which one.
Patterns
- go to the local market
- shop at a local market
- a local market sells something
Every Saturday we buy fresh vegetables at the local market.
The local market is a good place to find handmade crafts.
She sells homemade jam at the local market.
nouncountablebusiness
The group of customers or businesses in a small area that a company serves or hopes to sell to.
Grammar: Countable and common in business writing: enter a local market, the local market for something.
Patterns
- enter a local market
- the local market for something
- serve the local market
The company decided to enter the local market before expanding abroad.
There is strong demand in the local market for affordable housing.
Small shops often understand the local market better than large chains.
Word forms
| plural | local markets |
|---|
Common combinations
- shop at the local market
- We shop at the local market every weekend.
- the local market for something
- The local market for electric cars is growing quickly.
- enter the local market
- The brand plans to enter the local market next year.
- local market conditions
- Local market conditions affect how much rent you pay.
- a stall at the local market
- He runs a stall at the local market.
Synonyms and how they differ
- farmers' market
- A specific type of local market where farmers sell directly to customers; not all local markets are farmers' markets.
- community market
- Similar, but emphasizes the market as a community event rather than just a place to buy goods.
- domestic market
- In business, this means the market within one country, which may be much larger than a local market.
Opposites
Word family
- market noun
- A place or system where goods are bought and sold.
- marketplace noun
- A market or the world of buying and selling.
- locally adverb
- In or near the area where you live.
- local adjective
- Relating to a particular small area.
Commonly confused: local market or local mart?
local market vs local mart
A mart is a small shop, not an open market with many stalls.
Practice
The company wants to understand the local market before it opens its first store. What does "local market" mean here?
Choose one answer.
In business contexts, local market means the customers and businesses in a specific area. Option 0 describes a physical market, which is possible but less likely here. Option 2 is wrong because local means nearby, not foreign. Option 3 is wrong because it refers to financial markets, not local customers.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “local market”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.