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of, relating to, or characteristic of commerce.
engaged in commerce.
prepared, done, or acting with sole or chief emphasis on salability, profit, or success:
a commercial product; his att-tude toward the theater is very commercial.
able to yield or make a profit:
we decided that the small oil well was not commercial.
suitable or fit for a wide, popular market:
communications satellites are gradually finding a commercial use.
suitable for or catering to business rather than private use:
commercial kitchen design; commercial refrigeration.

engaged in transporting p-ssengers or goods for profit.
civilian and public, as distinguished from military or private.

not entirely or chemically pure:
commercial soda.
catering especially to traveling salespeople by offering reduced rates, sp-ce for exhibiting products, etc.:
a commercial hotel.
(in u.s. government grading of beef) graded between standard and utility.
paid for by advertisers:
commercial television.
radio and television. a paid advertis-m-nt or promotional announcement.

a low-quality grade of beef between standard and utility.
a cut of beef of this grade.

british informal. a traveling salesperson.
contemporary examples

so we did run the commercial and the book jumped on the best-seller list.
how i write: james patterson noah charney january 28, 2014

warning: watch this commercial once and prepare to have the song stuck in your head for eternity.
12 most annoying commercials of 2010 shannon donnelly december 24, 2010

miscarrying this into the commercial sector is another matter altogether.
how ‘religious freedom’ is hurting everyone’s freedom robert shrum march 4, 2014

a ten-year-old devotional written in the voice of g-d suddenly became a commercial juggernaut.
the strange saga of ‘jesus calling,’ the evangelical bestseller you’ve never heard of ruth graham february 22, 2014

north korea does not appear to hack american companies for commercial purposes, but china does.
sony blames north korea for hacking, but washington left them completely vulnerable gordon g. chang december 2, 2014

historical examples

what the puerto ricans want is not alms, but commercial liberty.
appletons’ popular science monthly, may, 1900 various

the spirit of compet-tion and commercial rivalry was absent.
heroes of the telegraph j. munro

what are the chief natural advantages of the state in favor of commercial development?
commercial geography jacques w. redway

nevertheless he was not very sanguine of making it a commercial success.
heroes of the telegraph j. munro

the part of the commercial traveller in creating the american nation has been noted.
a wayfarer in china elizabeth kendall

adjective
of, connected with, or engaged in commerce; mercantile
sponsored or paid for by an advertiser: commercial television
having profit as the main aim: commercial music
(of goods, chemicals, etc) of unrefined quality or presentation and produced in bulk for use in industry
noun
a commercially sponsored advertis-m-nt on radio or television
adj.

1680s, “pertaining to trade,” from commerce + -al (1). meaning “paid for by advertis-m-nts” (in reference to radio, tv, etc.) is from 1932; meaning “done for the sake of financial profit” (of art, etc.) is from 1871. related: commercially.
n.

“an advertis-m-nt broadcast on radio or tv,” 1935, from commercial (adj.).

noun

any endors-m-nt or recommendation: i like the idea, so spare me the commercial (1930s+)
obviously designed for wide audience approval: how can it be commercial? it’s jelly roll (1920s+ jazz musicians)