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
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.
These are professional shoplifters backed by criminal organizations that plan large-scale thefts and fence the products on the gray market, often selling across state lines or through the internet. Meghan Hall, Sourcing Journal, 2 Apr. 2025 Resellers operating in the gray market have reportedly been using entities registered outside of China to acquire Nvidia’s newest chips, including the Blackwell GPUs—which are prohibited from being sold to Chinese customers—via companies based in Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Vietnam. Trefis Team, Forbes.com, 31 Mar. 2025 Nevertheless, reports indicate that gray market resellers are utilizing entities registered outside China to purchase servers incorporating Nvidia’s latest offerings from companies based in several countries, such as Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Vietnam. Trefis Team, Forbes, 5 Mar. 2025 And of the many unlicensed home care aides who work in gray market, many are immigrants, including many who are undocumented. Howard Gleckman, Forbes, 15 Jan. 2025 See All Example Sentences for gray market

Word History

First Known Use

1934, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of gray market was in 1934

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Gray market.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gray%20market. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.

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

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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