flea market

noun

1. a market, often outdoors, consisting of a number of individual stalls selling old or used articles, curios and antiques, cut-rate merchandise, etc.

flea market

noun

1. an open-air market selling cheap and often second-hand goods

Other Word Forms

• flea-marketer noun
• flea-marketeer noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of flea market¹

First recorded in 1920–25

Idioms and Phrases

A market, usually held outdoors, where used goods and antiques are sold. For example, We picked up half of our furniture at flea markets. The term is a direct translation of the French marché aux puces and presumably implies that some of the used clothes and furniture might be flea-infested. [1920s]

Example Sentences

We go somewhere, maybe a crowded house party or a flea market, and someone strikes up a conversation.

From Los Angeles Times

They can recall the season they discovered each treasure — from fruit-shaped throw pillows to more than 30 animal portraits — and the cross streets of the flea markets from which they bought them.

From Los Angeles Times

I might go to Rose Bowl either for the flea market, which is open once a month, or for a walk.

From Los Angeles Times

On the agenda is hitting up his favorite flea market, enjoying a seafood brunch at Catch and sober bar hopping in West Hollywood.

From Los Angeles Times

But he doesn’t bother to mount most of his oil paintings, leaving them stacked against the walls of his 16th century palazzo like dollar records at a flea market.

From Los Angeles Times