flea market

noun

"flea-market" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“flea market” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
11
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An outdoor temporary market selling inexpensive antiques, curios, etc.

Corpus desk

Index EN-flea-market · flea market · English

flea market · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "F" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for flea market
PropertyValue
Headwordflea market
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters11
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “flea market” in English

flea marketsits beyond the 100,000 most-frequent English words, in the long tail of technical, archaic, or otherwise rare vocabulary where spelling doubt tends to strike hardest.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

flea market is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

flea market has no tracked misspelling variants, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: Calque of French marché aux puces. The correct English form is flea market, spelled F-L-E-A- -M-A-R-K-E-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    An outdoor temporary market selling inexpensive antiques, curios, etc.
  2. 2
    A permanent indoor market of stalls in a warehouse selling inexpensive antiques, outdated goods, curios, etc.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how flea market appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Although things are sold cheaper at the flea market, it's always a good idea to check whether the item is stolen.
  2. The Towne Hall is a big inflatable building in the middle of the Snooze ’n’ Crusie. It is Derelict Las Vegas: convenience store, video arcade, laundromat, bar, liquor store, flea market, whorehouse.

Etymology

Calque of French marché aux puces.

Synonyms

swap meet

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "flea market"?
"flea market" is spelled F-L-E-A- -M-A-R-K-E-T.
What does "flea market" mean?
As a noun, "flea market" means: An outdoor temporary market selling inexpensive antiques, curios, etc.
What is the origin of the word "flea market"?
Calque of French marché aux puces. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list