Definitions for commerce
ˈkɒm ərscom·merce

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:4.3 / 4 votes

1. commerce, commercialism, mercantilismnoun

   transactions (sales and purchases) having the objective of supplying commodities (goods and services)

2. Department of Commerce, Commerce Department, Commerce, DoCnoun

   the United States federal department that promotes and administers domestic and foreign trade (including management of the census and the patent office); created in 1913

3. commercenoun

   social exchange, especially of opinions, attitudes, etc.

WiktionaryRate this definition:3.5 / 4 votes

1. commercenoun

   The exchange or buying and selling of commodities; especially the exchange of merchandise, on a large scale, between different places or communities; extended trade or traffic.

2. commercenoun

   Social intercourse; the dealings of one person or class in society with another; familiarity.

3. commercenoun

   Sexual intercourse.

4. commercenoun

   A round game at cards, in which the cards are subject to exchange, barter, or trade.

5. commerceverb

   To carry on trade; to traffic.

   Beware you commerce not with bankrupts. -B. Jonson.

6. commerceverb

   To hold intercourse; to commune.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. COMMERCEnoun

   Intercourse; exchange of one thing for another; interchange of any thing; trade; traffick.

   Etymology: commercium, Latin.

   Places of publick resort being thus provided, our repair thither is especially for mutual conference, and, as it were, commerce to be had between God and us. Richard Hooker, b. v. s. 17.

   How could communities,
   Degrees in schools, and brotherhoods in cities, Peaceful commerce from dividable shores,
   But by degree stand in authentick place? William Shakespeare, Troil. and Cress.

   Instructed ships shall sail to quick commerce,
   By which remotest regions are ally’d;
   Which makes one city of the universe,
   Where some may gain, and all may be supply’d. Dryden.

   These people had not any commerce with the other known parts of the world. John Tillotson.

   In any country, that hath commerce with the rest of the world, it is almost impossible now to be without the use of silver coin. John Locke.

2. To Commerceverb

   To hold intercourse with.

   Etymology: from the noun.

   Come, but keep thy wonted state,
   With even step and musing gait,
   And looks commercing with the skies,
   Thy rapt’ soul sitting in thine eyes. John Milton.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Commerce

   Commerce is the large-scale organized system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions directly and indirectly related to the exchange (buying and selling) of goods and services among two or more parties within local, regional, national or international economies. More specifically, commerce is not business, but rather the part of business which facilitates the movement and distribution of finished or unfinished but valuable goods and services from the producers to the end consumers on a large scale, as opposed to the sourcing of raw materials and manufacturing of those goods. Commerce is subtly different from trade as well, which is the final transaction, exchange or transfer of finished goods and services between a seller and an end consumer. Commerce not only includes trade as defined above, but also a series of transactions that happen between the producer and the seller with the help of the auxiliary services and means which facilitate such trade. These auxiliary services include transportation, communication, warehousing, insurance, banking, financial markets, advertising, packaging, the services of commercial agents and agencies, etc. In other words, commerce encompasses a wide array of political, economical, technological, logistical, legal, regulatory, social and cultural aspects of trade on a large scale. From a marketing perspective, commerce creates time and place utility by making goods and services available to the customers at the right place and at the right time by changing their location or placement. Described in this manner, trade is a part of commerce and commerce is a part of business. Commerce was a costly endeavor in the antiquities because of the risky nature of transportation, which restricted it to local markets. Commerce then expanded along with the improvement of transportation systems over time. In the middle ages, long-distance and large-scale commerce was still limited within continents. With the advent of the age of exploration and oceangoing ships, commerce took an international, trans-continental stature. Currently the reliability of international trans-oceanic shipping and mailing systems and the facility of the Internet has made commerce possible between cities, regions and countries situated anywhere in the world. In the 21st century, Internet-based electronic commerce (where financial information is transferred over Internet), and its subcategories such as wireless mobile commerce and social network-based social commerce have been and continue to get adopted widely. Legislative bodies and ministries or ministerial departments of commerce regulate, promote and manage domestic and foreign commercial activities within a country. International commerce can be regulated by bilateral treaties between countries. However, after the second world war and the rise of free trade among nations, multilateral arrangements such as the GATT and later the World Trade Organization became the principal systems regulating global commerce. The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) is another important organization which sets rules and resolves disputes in international commerce.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:2.0 / 1 vote

1. Commercenoun

   the exchange or buying and selling of commodities; esp. the exchange of merchandise, on a large scale, between different places or communities; extended trade or traffic

2. Commercenoun

   social intercourse; the dealings of one person or class in society with another; familiarity

3. Commercenoun

   sexual intercourse

4. Commercenoun

   a round game at cards, in which the cards are subject to exchange, barter, or trade

5. Commerceverb

   to carry on trade; to traffic

6. Commerceverb

   to hold intercourse; to commune

7. Etymology: [Cf. F. commercer, fr. LL. commerciare.]

FreebaseRate this definition:1.0 / 1 vote

1. Commerce

   Commerce is the whole system of an economy that constitutes an environment for business. The system includes legal, economic, political, social, cultural and technological systems that are in operation in any country. Thus, commerce is a system or an environment that affects the business prospects of an economy or a nation-state. It can also be defined as a component of business which includes all activities, functions and institutions involved in transferring goods from producers to consumers.

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Commerce

   kom′ėrs, n. interchange of merchandise on a large scale between nations or individuals: extended trade or traffic: intercourse: fellowship.—v.i. Commerce′, to trade: to have communication with.—adj. Commer′cial, pertaining to commerce: mercantile.—n. commercial traveller.—ns. Commer′cialism; Commer′cialist; Commer′ciality.—adv. Commer′cially.—Commercial room, a room in a hotel set apart for commercial travellers; Commercial traveller, a person who transacts business as the accredited travelling representative of a trading house to other trading houses. [Fr.,—L. commercium—com, with, merx, mercis, merchandise.]

U.S. National Library of MedicineRate this definition:1.0 / 1 vote

1. Commerce

   The interchange of goods or commodities, especially on a large scale, between different countries or between populations within the same country. It includes trade (the buying, selling, or exchanging of commodities, whether wholesale or retail) and business (the purchase and sale of goods to make a profit). (From Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed, p411, p2005 & p283)

Dictionary of Nautical TermsRate this definition:2.0 / 1 vote

1. commerce

   Was not much practised by the Romans. The principal objects of their water-carriage were the supply of corn, still termed annona, and the tribute and spoils of conquered countries.

Editors ContributionRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. commerce

   The system of businesses, companies, enterprises and organizations within an economy.

   The facets of commerce are varied and very interesting.

   
   

   Submitted by MaryC on March 7, 2020  

Matched Categories

1. • Conversation
   • Executive Department

British National Corpus

1. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'commerce' in Nouns Frequency: #2181

How to pronounce commerce?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say commerce in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of commerce in Chaldean Numerology is: 6

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of commerce in Pythagorean Numerology is: 3

Examples of commerce in a Sentence

1. Nucleus Research analyst Daniel Elman:

   With this change in consumer behavior likely to remain permanent, and Amazon's accelerating shipping and fulfillment speeds, the company's dominance as the go-to platform for e-commerce will remain unchallenged.

2. Mike Braatz:

   It is critical that they prepare for a significant uptick in fraud, particularly within e-commerce channels.

3. Robert Dobrzycki:

   Not only is there local consumption and growth but the big western European e-commerce operators are seeing Poland and the Czech Republic as places to set up locations, we are building German-driven e-commerce buildings in central Europe. On top of that we see a huge trend of investors outside the region trying to diversify and hedge against a slow-down in other real estate sectors.

4. Bishop of New York:

   The Cathedral of Commerce

5. Matthew Litfin:

   This is a gaming generation and they do not like to have to talk to somebody. If you can make day-to-day commerce more like a game they can play on their phones, they are more likely to engage, our focus on digital efforts (is meant to) make certain that we are appealing to younger audiences, which will be the future of the overall business.

Popularity rank by frequency of use