English Reference
noun

bazaar

n.
US /bəˈzɑɹ/ UK /bɐzˈɑː/ bazaar UK spelling bazaar's, bazaar's

  1. 01 B2 Upper Intermediate

    a large market with many small shops and stalls, especially in the Middle East or South Asia.

    a marketplace or street of shops, typically found in the Middle East or South Asia, often covered and organized by trade.

    Simple

    We spent the afternoon walking through the narrow streets of the spice bazaar.

    In context

    The city's central bazaar remains the heart of local commerce, where vendors have traded silk and hand-woven carpets for centuries.

  2. 02 B2 Upper Intermediate

    an event where people sell things like crafts or food to raise money for a good cause.

    a fair or temporary market, often organized by a church or community group, to raise funds for charity.

    Simple

    The school held a Christmas bazaar to buy new books for the library.

    In context

    Local residents donated handmade crafts and baked goods to the annual charity bazaar, raising thousands for the community hospital.

    fairfetefundraiser
  3. 03 C1 Advanced Literary

    a shop that sells a wide variety of unusual or exotic items.

    a retail establishment characterized by an eclectic or exotic range of merchandise.

    Simple

    The small shop was a bazaar of antique clocks and strange old maps.

    In context

    The collector's apartment was a veritable bazaar of curiosities, filled with artifacts gathered from his travels across five continents.

    emporiumboutique

Within no time, the bazaar was swept away in front of my eyes," she says, referring to the local market around the school.

BBC News· 30 Aug 2026

From Middle French bazar or Italian bazar, from Ottoman Turkish بازار (bazar), from Persian بازار (bâzâr).

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Origin fa بازار
Level B2 · Upper Intermediate
Frequency Frequent
Updated