n.
Pronunciation: ' mär-k ə t- ˌ pl ā s
Function: noun
Date: 14th century
1 a : an open square or place in a town where markets or public sales are held b : MARKET <the marketplace is the interpreter of supply and demand>
2 : the world of trade or economic activity : the everyday world <a conviction that religion belongs in the marketplace ― Current Biog. >
3 : a sphere in which intangible values compete for acceptance <the marketplace of ideas>