commerce
1 Americannoun
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an interchange of goods or commodities, especially on a large scale between different countries foreign commerce or between different parts of the same country domestic commerce; trade; business.
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social relations, especially the exchange of views, attitudes, etc.
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sexual intercourse.
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intellectual or spiritual interchange; communion.
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Also called Commerce Department. (initial capital letter) the Department of Commerce.
noun
noun
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the activity embracing all forms of the purchase and sale of goods and services
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social relations and exchange, esp of opinions, attitudes, etc
Usage
What does commerce mean? Commerce refers to the buying and selling of goods and products, especially on a large scale, as in New York City is a major center of commerce where billions of dollars are exchanged every day. The word commerce is almost always used to refer to business, trade, and the movement of things that are being bought and sold. Commerce can refer to either the exchange of goods between countries (international or foreign commerce) or the exchange that occurs within one country (domestic commerce).Much less frequently, commerce is used to mean an exchanging of ideas or views as part of social interaction, as in The club promoted intellectual commerce among the students.Commerce is similar to the word trade and the two words can generally be used as synonyms. Trade describes a more general exchange of goods and money, while commerce describes large-scale trading, such as at an interstate or international level, which requires large numbers of trucks, planes, and other delivery methods.Example: After the war, the small country experienced an increase in commerce with neighboring countries because transporting products was safe again.
Related Words
See trade.
Etymology
Origin of commerce
First recorded in 1530–40; from Middle French, from Latin commercium, from commerc(ārī) “to trade together” (from com- com- + mercārī “to buy, deal, trade,” verb derivative of merc-, stem of merx “commodity, goods, merchandise”) + -ium -ium
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow will retain his position as Thailand's top diplomat, as will the ministers of finance and commerce -- all three of whom were also made deputy prime ministers.
From Barron's
Some of the old downtown buzz remains, partly because while much of the commerce has cratered, roughly 90,000 people still walk the streets.
From Los Angeles Times
Its guidance for core local commerce revenue to be flat or decline slightly in 1Q was also in line with DBS’s expectations.
In the absence of a common understanding on the scope, "the continued extension of this moratorium warrants careful reconsideration", India's commerce minister Piyush Goyal said Thursday.
From Barron's
“Full participation in commerce and public life necessarily requires that law-abiding individuals can access, and freely participate in, our financial system,” he wrote.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
