commerce
part of speech
noun (commerce — uncountable, no plural)
meaning for a pupil
1) Commerce is the buying and selling of goods and services, especially in large amounts between companies and countries. tree →
2) (formal) Commerce is the whole world of trade and business in a place, such as shops, banks and markets. tree →
3) (old-fashioned) Commerce can mean dealings or contact between people. tree →
sense in the lessons
In history and geography lessons, commerce explains why towns grew near rivers, ports and roads: people met there to trade. In everyday life you see it in phrases like «chamber of commerce» (a club of local businesses) and «e-commerce» (buying and selling online). In stories it tells the reader that a place is busy with trade and money. Common phrases: «trade and commerce», «centre of commerce», «e-commerce», «chamber of commerce», «commerce between countries».
examples
- London became rich because it was a great centre of commerce. tree →
- The river carried commerce from the farms to the city. tree →
- Mum runs a small e-commerce shop that sells knitted hats online. tree →
- The chamber of commerce gave a prize to the best bakery in town. tree →
- Roads and railways helped commerce grow across Canada. tree →
- In the old port, commerce went on from dawn till dark. tree →
- Our class learned how commerce works by running a pretend market. tree →
- Sailors brought spices to Europe through commerce with Asia. tree →
- Mercury was the Roman god of commerce and gain. tree →
note
Uncountable: say «commerce», not «a commerce» or «commerces». Stress on the first syllable: COM-merce. The adjective is «commercial» (a commercial is also a TV advert). Do not confuse with «commence» (to begin). «E-commerce» means online shopping and selling.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «commerce» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.