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gray market
noun
: a market employing irregular but not illegal methods
especially
: a market that legally circumvents authorized channels of distribution to sell goods at prices lower than those intended by the manufacturer
Examples of gray market in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Because of poor distribution and a lack of aid staff, most of the aid in northern Gaza can only be purchased on the gray market at inflated prices.
—Taylor Luck, The Christian Science Monitor, 17 Apr. 2024
Amazon reviews purchased on the gray market or written by generative AI bots?
—Christopher Null, WIRED, 7 Feb. 2024
One hypothesis Mexican officials have is that the morphine may be coming from black or gray markets while being sold as legitimate.
—Beth Mole, Ars Technica, 16 June 2023
But as explained by Bloomberg in December, a semiconductor gray market in China became visible in 2020 due to the global chip shortage.
—Scharon Harding, Ars Technica, 30 Mar. 2023
China’s gray market The incidents above show smugglers seemingly attempting to bring products into mainland China but being interrupted by China or Hong Kong customs.
—Scharon Harding, Ars Technica, 30 Mar. 2023
The unlicensed dispensaries operating in the gray market might divert up to $1 billion annually from the legal market until 2030, which could result in a loss of around $2.6 billion in tax revenue over the next seven years, according to an exclusive report obtained by Forbes.
—Dario Sabaghi, Forbes, 28 Nov. 2023
There is a thriving gray market for the medication, according to state media, which reported that scalpers in Beijing were selling it for up to $7,400 per box.
—Lyric Li, Washington Post, 11 Jan. 2023
The American Watches of Switzerland boutiques are already carrying the CPO program and sources tell us its vintage branch, Analog/Shift, was recently contacting gray market dealers to unload many of its older vintage models at a discount.
—Paige Reddinger, Robb Report, 5 Sep. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'gray market.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1934, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near gray market
Cite this Entry
“Gray market.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gray%20market. Accessed 6 Jun. 2024.
Legal Definition
gray market
noun
: a market employing irregular but not illegal methods
especially
: a market that legally circumvents authorized channels of distribution to sell goods at prices lower than those intended by the manufacturer
More from Merriam-Webster on gray market
Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for gray market
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