commercial
related to buying and selling things
The commercial future of the company looks very promising.
Oxford Essential Dictionary
adjective
connected with buying and selling things:
commercial law
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
commercial
I. com‧mer‧cial1 S3 W2 /kəˈmɜːʃəl $ -ɜːr-/ BrE AmE adjective
1. related to business and the buying and selling of goods and services:
Our top priorities must be profit and commercial growth.
2. related to the ability of a product or business to make a profit:
Gibbons failed to see the commercial value of his discovery.
commercial success/failure
The film was a huge commercial success.
3. [only before noun] a commercial product is one that is produced and sold in large quantities
4. more concerned with money than with quality:
Their music has become very commercial.
5. commercial radio/TV/channel etc radio or television broadcasts that are produced by companies that earn money through advertising
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ nouns
▪ a commercial bank (=one that accepts people’s money, provides loans etc) Several large commercial banks cut their lending rates.
▪ a commercial company/organization Many commercial companies are having financial difficulties.
▪ commercial property (=property for businesses and industry) He decided to invest in commercial property.
▪ commercial interests (=things that bring business advantages) The President’s reform programme threatened US commercial interests.
▪ the commercial sector (=the business part of the economy) The commercial sector sponsors sport.
▪ the commercial market (=the market for goods) A product like this should do well in the commercial market.
▪ commercial development (=the building of houses, hotels, restaurants etc) The increased number of tourists has resulted in further commercial development.
▪ commercial use The trees were planted for commercial use.
▪ commercial exploitation (=using something, especially natural resources, to make money) the commercial exploitation of mineral resources
▪ commercial activity Commercial activity in our society is highly competitive.
▪ commercial considerations/reasons/purposes Commercial considerations must come second to conservation of the environment.
▪ a commercial transaction (=a business deal) The deal was a straightforward commercial transaction.
Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary
commercial
com·mer·cial [commercial commercials] adjective, noun [kəˈmɜːʃl] [kəˈmɜːrʃl]
adjective
1. usually before noun connected with the buying and selling of goods and services
• the commercial heart of the city
• She is developing the commercial side of the organization.
• a commercial vehicle (= one that is used for carrying goods or passengers who pay)
2. only before noun making or intended to make a profit
• The movie was not a commercial success (= did not make money).
• commercial baby foods
• the first commercial flights across the Atlantic
3. (disapproving) more concerned with profit and being popular than with quality
• Their more recent music is far too commercial.
• The show was unashamedly commercial, with little artistic merit.
4. (of television or radio) paid for by the money charged for broadcasting advertisements
• a commercial radio station/TV channel
Thesaurus:
commercial adj.
1. usually before noun
• banks in the commercial heart of the city
economic • • financial • |finance monetary • • budgetary •
commercial/economic/financial/monetary/budgetary policy/arrangements/systems/problems
commercial/economic/financial/monetary gain/loss/value/affairs/consequences
the commercial/economic/financial side/status of sth
2. only before noun
• They are an educational charity, not a commercial publisher.
profitable • • profit-making • • economic • • lucrative •
Opp: non-profit
a commercial/profitable/profit-making/lucrative enterprise
Synonyms:
economic
financial • commercial • monetary • budgetary
These words all describe activities or situations that are connected with the use of money, especially by a business or country.
economic • connected with the trade, industry and development of wealth of a country, an area or a society: ▪ This book deals with the social, economic and political issues of the period.
financial • connected with money and finance: ▪ She had got into financial difficulties. ◊ ▪ Tokyo is a major financial centre.
commercial • connected with the buying and selling of goods and services.
monetary • (formal or finance) connected with money, especially all the money in a country: ▪ closer European monetary union
budgetary • (finance) connected with a budget (= the money available or a plan of how it will be spent).
economic/financial/commercial/monetary/budgetary affairs/decisions
the economic/financial/commercial/budgetary climate
the economic/financial/commercial side of sth
an economic/financial/commercial centre
Synonyms:
successful
profitable • commercial • lucrative • economic
These words all describe sb/sth that is making or is likely to make money.
successful • making a lot of money, especially by being popular: ▪ The play was very successful on Broadway. ◊ ▪ The company has had another successful year.
profitable • making a profit: ▪ a highly profitable business
commercial • [only before noun] making or intended to make a profit: ▪ The movie was not a commercial success ▪ (= made no profit) ▪.
lucrative • (of business or work) producing or paying a large amount of money; making a large profit: ▪ They do a lot of business in lucrative overseas markets.
economic • (often used in negative sentences) (of a process, business or activity) producing enough profit to continue: ▪ Small local shops stop being economic when a supermarket opens up nearby.
a successful/profitable/lucrative business
a successful/profitable/lucrative year
a(n) commercial/economic success
Example Bank:
• The movie was not a commercial success.
• They are an educational charity, not a commercial publisher.
• They have offices in the commercial heart of the city.
• We manufacture commercial vehicles.
Derived Word: commercially
Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary
Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary - 4th Edition
commercial / kəˈmɜː.ʃ ə l / / -ˈmɝː- / adjective
B2 related to buying and selling things:
a commercial organization/venture/success
commercial law
The commercial future of the company looks very promising.
disapproving describes a record, film, book, etc. that has been produced with the aim of making money and as a result has little artistic value [ before noun ] describes a product that can be bought by or is intended to be bought by the general public C2 [ before noun ] refers to radio or television paid for by advertisements that are broadcast between and during programmes
commercially / -i / adverb
Does the market research show that the product will succeed commercially (= make a profit) ?
The drug won't be commercially available (= able to be bought) until it has been thoroughly tested.
Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary
commercial
[kəmɜ͟ː(r)ʃ(ə)l]
♦♦
commercials
1) ADJ: usu ADJ n Commercial means involving or relating to the buying and selling of goods.
Docklands in its heyday was a major centre of industrial and commercial activity...
Attacks were reported on police, vehicles and commercial premises.
2) ADJ-GRADED Commercial organizations and activities are concerned with making money or profits, rather than, for example, with scientific research or providing a public service.
British Rail has indeed become more commercial over the past decade...
Conservationists in Chile are concerned over the effect of commercial exploitation of forests...
Whether the project will be a commercial success is still uncertain.
Derived words:
commercially ADV-GRADED usu ADV adj, ADV with v, also ADV with cl British Aerospace reckon that the plane will be commercially viable if 400 can be sold... Insulin is produced commercially from animals... Designers are becoming more commercially minded.
3) ADJ: ADJ n A commercial product is made to be sold to the public.
They are the leading manufacturer in both defence and commercial products.
Derived words:
commercially ADV usu ADV adj, also ADV with v It was the first commercially available machine to employ artificial intelligence.
4) ADJ: usu ADJ n A commercial vehicle is a vehicle used for carrying goods, or passengers who pay.
Commercial vehicles, coaches and lorries are required by law to be fitted with tachographs.
...the fastest crossing of the Atlantic by a commercial passenger vessel.
5) ADJ: usu ADJ n Commercial television and radio are paid for by the broadcasting of advertisements, rather than by the government.
...Classic FM, the first national commercial radio station.
Ant:
public
6) ADJ-GRADED Commercial is used to describe something such as a film or a type of music that it is intended to be popular with the public, and is not very original or of high quality.
There's a feeling among a lot of people that music has become too commercial.
7) N-COUNT A commercial is an advertisement that is broadcast on television or radio.
The government has launched a campaign of television commercials and leaflets.
Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary
1com·mer·cial /kəˈmɚʃəl/ adj
1 : related to or used in the buying and selling of goods and services
• commercial property/regulations/vehicles
• a commercial airliner
• The city wanted to encourage commercial rather than residential development along the river. [=the city wanted businesses rather than apartments or houses to be built along the river]
• a commercial and industrial city [=a city with many businesses and factories]
2 [more ~; most ~]
a : concerned with earning money
• Their music is too commercial.
• commercial artists
b always used before a noun : relating to or based on the amount of profit that something earns
• The play was a commercial success but an artistic failure. [=the play earned a lot of money but did not show artistic skill]
3 always used before a noun : paid for by advertisers
• commercial television/broadcasting
• The average American sees and hears thousands of commercial messages each day.
- com·mer·cial·ly adv
• He produced several commercially successful films.
• commercially available software
• The album did well commercially. [=the album earned a lot of money; many people bought the album]
