# marketing

/ˈmɑɹkətɪŋ/ (US) · /mˈɑːkɪtɪŋ/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/marketing
Updated: 2026-06-19

## Senses

### 1. business promotion

noun · CEFR B1

the work of advertising and selling products, including research into what people want to buy.

For teachers: the strategic process of promoting and selling products or services, typically involving market research and advertising. Uncountable in this professional sense.

- The company spent a lot of money on marketing to attract younger customers.
- Effective marketing requires a deep understanding of consumer psychology and the ability to adapt to rapidly changing digital trends.

Usage: Often used as an uncountable noun or as a modifier before another noun, such as 'marketing department' or 'marketing strategy'.

### 2. selling or promoting

verb · CEFR B2

the act of trying to sell a product or service to a particular group of people.

For teachers: the present participle of 'market', referring to the active process of offering a product for sale or promoting its value to a target audience.

- They are marketing the new phone as the fastest one ever made.
- By marketing the luxury vehicle exclusively to high-net-worth individuals, the firm maintained an aura of prestige and scarcity.

### 3. shopping at a market

noun · CEFR C1 · Archaic · Dialect

the act of going to a market to buy food or other goods.

For teachers: the activity of purchasing goods, especially groceries, at a physical market. This sense is increasingly dated or restricted to specific dialects.

- In the old days, my grandmother would do the marketing every Saturday morning.
- The traditional practice of daily marketing for fresh produce has largely been supplanted by weekly supermarket visits in urban centres.

Teaching tip: This sense is rare in modern British or American English; learners should use 'shopping' instead unless referring to historical contexts.

## Examples

- The company spends a lot of money on digital marketing.
- Effective marketing requires a deep understanding of the target audience's needs and the ability to communicate value clearly.
- While the product itself was revolutionary, poor marketing failed to differentiate it from cheaper competitors, leading to disappointing sales figures in the first fiscal quarter.

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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.