free market

/fri ˈmɑrkɪt/

/fri ˈmɑkɪt/

Other forms: free markets

A free market is an economic system in which buyers and sellers determine how much goods and services cost, without a government interfering.

Free markets are mainly about supply and demand. The things that people want to buy and what they're willing to pay for those things, as well as how many of them are available, determine their price. No country has an entirely free market, since essential things like taxes, regulations, and trade restrictions between nations make every economy less than totally "free." Most economists say that the freer the market, the more people are encouraged to start their own businesses.

Definitions of free market

1. noun

   an economy that relies chiefly on market forces to allocate goods and resources and to determine prices
   synonyms: free enterprise, laissez-faire economy, market economy, private enterprise

   types:

   capitalism, capitalist economy

   an economic system based on private ownership of capital

   venture capitalism

   capitalism that invests in innovative enterprises (especially high technology) where the potential profits are large

   type of:

   economic system, economy

   the system of production and distribution and consumption