BLACK MARKET • FREE TRANSLATOR.ORG • Definition of Black market

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/blæk mˈɑrkət/ Listen

noun

black market n.

The illicit buying and selling of goods, in violation of price controls, rationing, tax laws, prohibition of sale, etc.

A place where such illegal commerce is conducted, or the entire system of such illicit commerce considered as a whole; as, the black market accounts for twenty percent of the Ukrainian economy.

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Etymology of 'Black market'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Black market" Quotes from Famous Books

... paper. "I have here a report from a journalist of the West who but recently returned from a tour of our country. She reports, with some indignation, that the only available eyebrow pencils were to be found on the black market, were of French import, and cost a thousand dinars apiece. She contends that Transbalkanian women are ...

— Expediter • Dallas McCord Reynolds

... terrorists and the means by which they murder to advance their cause. Terrorists exploit many avenues to develop and acquire weapons, including through state sponsors, theft or capture, and black market purchases. Our enemies employ existing technology—explosives, small arms, missiles and other devices—in both conventional and unconventional ways to terrorize and achieve mass effects. They also use non-weapon technologies ...

— National Strategy for Combating Terrorism - September 2006 • United States

... below the 1990 level. Economic data are of limited use because, although both entities issue figures, national-level statistics are limited. Moreover, official data do not capture the large share of activity that occurs on the black market. The marka - the national currency introduced in 1998 - is now pegged to the euro, and the Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina has dramatically increased its reserve holdings. Implementation of privatization, however, has been slow, and local entities only ...

— The 2002 CIA World Factbook • US Government

... took up a paper. "I have here a report from a journalist of the West who but recently returned from a tour of our country. She reports, with some indignation, that the only available eyebrow pencils were to be found on the black market, were of French import, and cost a thousand dinars apiece. She contends that Transbalkanian women are indignant at ...

— Expediter • Dallas McCord Reynolds

... Teen-agers began having "Popping-off parties". Some of their elders protested a little, but adults were taking it up too. The tired, the unappreciated, the ill and the heavy-laden lay down in growing numbers and expired. A black market in poisons operated for a little while, but soon pinched out. Such was the pressure of persuasion that few needed artificial aids. The boxes were very comfortable. People just closed their eyes ...

— And All the Earth a Grave • Carroll M. Capps (AKA C.C. MacApp)