commodities

IPA/kəˈmɒd.ə.ti/
KK[kəmˈɑdətiz]IPA/kəˈmɑː.də.t̬i/

commodities — noun

  • commoditiessingular
  • commoditiesesplural

1. a basic product, such as oil, wheat, or metal, that is bought and sold in large

1.nounB2
Definition

a basic product, such as oil, wheat, or metal, that is bought and sold in large quantities and has the same market value regardless of who produces it — its price is determined by supply and demand rather than by brand or individual features.

Example

The price of oil and other commodities has fallen sharply this year.

collocation: commodity price / price of commodities

Selim invests in commodities such as gold, copper, and silver.

collocation: invest in commodities

Common collocations
  • commodity prices
  • commodity market
  • commodity trading
  • agricultural commodities
  • commodity futures
  • commodity exchange
  • commodity trader
Synonyms
  • goods

    broader — goods includes finished products; commodities are specifically raw or basic goods

  • merchandise

    more commercial/retail — merchandise suggests finished items for sale

  • raw materials

    narrower — raw materials are a subset of commodities that have not been processed at all

  • products

    more general — products can be finished or branded; commodities are interchangeable across producers

Usage Note

Often used in the plural form (commodities) when referring to the general category of raw materials and primary products traded on global markets.

Common Mistakes

I bought some commodities at the grocery store.
I bought some goods at the grocery store.
commodities in the economic sense refers to raw materials and bulk products, not finished retail items.
She turned her hobby into a commodity.' (for sense 1)
She turned her hobby into a business.
the economic sense of commodity does not mean 'a thing one makes or sells'; it means raw materials traded on exchanges.

2. a personal quality or characteristic — such as honesty, skill, or experience — t

2.nounC1
Definition

a personal quality or characteristic — such as honesty, skill, or experience — that is considered extremely useful or valuable, almost as if it were a tradable resource in a particular situation.

Example

In this industry, experience is a rare commodity that employers are willing to pay for.

metaphorical: experience is a commodity

Honesty is a valuable commodity in any workplace, especially among sales teams.

Common collocations
  • a rare commodity
  • a valuable commodity
  • a priceless commodity
  • a precious commodity
  • a scarce commodity
Synonyms
  • asset

    more neutral and common — asset can be any positive quality; commodity emphasizes market-like scarcity and value

  • advantage

    different emphasis — advantage focuses on competitive benefit rather than inherent value

  • quality

    more general — quality does not carry the metaphorical sense of tradability that commodity suggests

Usage Note

This sense always appears in a metaphorical comparison — the quality is compared to a physical commodity. It is typically modified by an adjective (rare, valuable, priceless) and used in a singular count-noun frame: 'a/one/that + adjective + commodity'.

Common Mistakes

Patience is an important commodity for teachers.' (vague)
Patience is a valuable commodity for teachers working with large classes.
the metaphor works best when the situation makes clear why the quality is scarce and prized.

Word family

  • commodity
    nounB2
  • commodify
    verbC1
  • commodification
    nounC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Commodities, goods, and products all refer to things that are bought and sold, but they are not interchangeable. Goods is the broadest term — it covers anything from raw materials to finished electronics (the store sells household goods). Products suggests something manufactured or processed (Apple releases new products each year). Merchandise is used in retail contexts for items displayed in shops (the merchandise on the shelves was discounted). Raw materials are the unprocessed natural inputs that commodities often consist of (iron ore is a raw material). Commodities are specifically basic, interchangeable resources — a barrel of oil from Brazil trades at the same price as one from Saudi Arabia because the market does not distinguish by origin. This uniformity is the key difference: you can brand a product but not a commodity.

goods ↗products ↗merchandise ↗raw materials

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • commodity futures
  • commodity prices
  • commodity market
  • commodity exchange
  • commodity trader

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Commodity comes from the Latin word commoditas, meaning 'fitness, suitability, or advantage,' which in turn comes from commodus ('convenient, suitable' — com- 'with' + modus 'measure'). It passed through French commodité before entering Middle English in the 1400s. The original English meaning was 'a useful thing or advantage,' which later shifted in the 15th–16th centuries toward 'an item of trade or commerce.' The modern economic sense — a raw material traded in bulk — became dominant during the rise of global trade in the 18th and 19th centuries.

First known use

15th century

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1