supply and demand

noun

: the amount of goods and services that are available for people to buy compared to the amount of goods and services that people want to buy
If less of a product than the public wants is produced, the law of supply and demand says that more can be charged for the product.

Examples of supply and demand in a Sentence

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Home building plummeted in California and the law of supply and demand ruled. — Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2026 Saudi officials said investors had pushed prices well past what supply and demand justified, and that financial trading in oil had grown many times larger than the physical market. — Wael Mahdi, semafor.com, 14 Oct. 2026 If demand for workers fell, wages could fall too, making workers cheaper to hire and allowing the labor market to balance supply and demand. — Greg Rosalsky, NPR, 13 Oct. 2026 How do risk, scarcity and supply and demand shape the price of everything from a gallon of gas to a first apartment? — Michael Poore Special To The Democrat-Gazette, Arkansas Online, 1 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for supply and demand

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Cite this Entry

“Supply and demand.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/supply%20and%20demand. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

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