# bazaar

/bəˈzɑɹ/ (US) · /bɐzˈɑː/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/bazaar
Updated: 2026-08-08

## Senses

### 1. traditional market

noun · CEFR B2

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

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

- We spent the afternoon walking through the narrow streets of the spice bazaar.
- The city's central bazaar remains the heart of local commerce, where vendors have traded silk and hand-woven carpets for centuries.

### 2. charity sale

noun · CEFR B2

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

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

- The school held a Christmas bazaar to buy new books for the library.
- Local residents donated handmade crafts and baked goods to the annual charity bazaar, raising thousands for the community hospital.

### 3. eclectic shop

noun · CEFR C1 · Literary

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

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

- The small shop was a bazaar of antique clocks and strange old maps.
- The collector's apartment was a veritable bazaar of curiosities, filled with artifacts gathered from his travels across five continents.

## Examples

- We bought spices at the local bazaar.
- The tourist wandered through the crowded bazaar, buying handmade rugs and colorful lanterns.
- The ancient bazaar served as the economic heart of the city, where merchants from distant lands exchanged silk, spices, and precious stones.

---

From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.