commercial

[ kuh-mur-shuhl ]

adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of commerce.
2. engaged in commerce.
3. prepared, done, or acting with sole or chief emphasis on salability, profit, or success:

   a commercial product; His attitude toward the theater is very commercial.

4. able to yield or make a profit:

   We decided that the small oil well was not commercial.

5. suitable or fit for a wide, popular market:

   Communications satellites are gradually finding a commercial use.

6. suitable for or catering to business rather than private use:

   commercial kitchen design; commercial refrigeration.

7. (of a vehicle or its use)
   1. engaged in transporting passengers or goods for profit.
   2. civilian and public, as distinguished from military or private.
8. not entirely or chemically pure:

   commercial soda.

9. catering especially to traveling salespeople by offering reduced rates, space for exhibiting products, etc.:

   a commercial hotel.

10. (in U.S. government grading of beef ) graded between standard and utility.
11. paid for by advertisers:

    commercial television.

noun

1. Radio and Television. a paid advertisement or promotional announcement.
2. (in U.S. government grading of beef )
   1. a low-quality grade of beef between standard and utility.
   2. a cut of beef of this grade.
3. British Informal. a traveling salesperson.

commercial

/ kəˈmɜːʃəl; kəˌmɜːʃɪˈælɪtɪ /

adjective

1. of, connected with, or engaged in commerce; mercantile
2. sponsored or paid for by an advertiser

   commercial television

3. having profit as the main aim

   commercial music

4. (of goods, chemicals, etc) of unrefined quality or presentation and produced in bulk for use in industry

noun

1. a commercially sponsored advertisement on radio or television

Derived Forms

• commerciality, noun
• comˈmercially, adverb

Other Words From

• com·mercial·ly adverb
• anti·com·mercial adjective
• anti·com·mercial·ly adverb
• anti·com·mercial·ness noun
• counter·com·mercial adjective
• noncom·mercial adjective noun
• noncom·mercial·ly adverb
• precom·mercial adjective
• procom·mercial adjective
• quasi-com·mercial adjective
• quasi-com·mercial·ly adverb
• semi·com·mercial adjective
• semi·com·mercial·ly adverb
• super·com·mercial adjective
• super·com·mercial·ly adverb
• ultra·com·mercial adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of commercial¹

First recorded in 1680–90; commerce + -ial

Synonym Study

Commercial, mercantile refer to the activities of business, industry, and trade. Commercial is the broader term, covering all the activities and relationships of industry and trade. In a derogatory sense it may mean such a preoccupation with the affairs of commerce as results in indifference to considerations other than wealth: commercial treaties; a merely commercial viewpoint. Mercantile applies to the purchase and sale of goods, or to the transactions of business: a mercantile house or class.

Example Sentences

A key Los Angeles City Council committee signed off on a sweeping rezoning plan Tuesday that would focus new market rate and affordable housing on commercial corridors and in existing dense residential neighborhoods.

From Los Angeles Times

The Human Tissue Act only bans "commercial dealings" of human tissue in the context of medical transplantation, rather than sale as artefacts.

From BBC

Unlike commercial antibiotics, phages evolve alongside their bacterial hosts, dodging and parrying the bacterial response so that for every pathogen, there’s likely a bacteriophage, somewhere, that eats it.

From Salon

Marriott is a commercial interior designer who now lives in Portland, Ore., but grew up in Arcadia.

From Los Angeles Times

Her husband, Vince, founded the company and was a household name as televised commercial wrestling exploded in popularity in the 1980s and 1990s.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• economic
• financial
• monetary
• profit-making
• profitable
• wholesale