mercantile

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

"It expanded Chincha's agricultural productivity and mercantile influence, leading to exchanges of resources and power."

From Science Daily • Mar. 7, 2026

Far from being unique or “a heroic visionary,” Columbus was a typical merchant-seafarer of his time, combining the energies of a Genoese mercantile chancer with the drive of a man who wanted to get rich.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 2, 2026

Just like Miami, the style emerged in the city at a time of economic flux and transformation, spurred by its modern, mercantile port-city energy.

From BBC • Nov. 22, 2025

“We had three really competent engineers. They might have trained in a mercantile or other type of marine institution, but they wanted to put their skills to work for a greater cause.”

From Slate • Jul. 22, 2025

Thus the mercantile tradition contributed to the great Ionian awakening around 600 B.C., and, through slavery, may have been the cause of its decline some two centuries later.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan