broker
Americannoun
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brokers
plural
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an agent who buys or sells for a principal on a commission basis without having title to the property.
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a person who functions as an intermediary between two or more parties in negotiating agreements, bargains, or the like.
verb (used with object)
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brokers,
present (3rd person singular)
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brokered,
past participle, past
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brokering
present participle
verb (used without object)
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brokers,
present (3rd person singular)
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brokered,
past participle, past
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brokering
present participle
noun
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an agent who, acting on behalf of a principal, buys or sells goods, securities, etc, in return for a commission
insurance broker
-
(formerly) short for stockbroker
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a dealer in second-hand goods
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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brokersimple
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brokerssimple
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have brokeredperfect
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has brokeredperfect
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am brokeringprogressive
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are brokeringprogressive
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is brokeringprogressive
-
have been brokeringperfect progressive
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has been brokeringperfect progressive
Past
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brokeredsimple
-
had brokeredperfect
-
was brokeringprogressive
-
were brokeringprogressive
-
had been brokeringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of broker
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English broco(u)r, from Anglo-French abrocour, broco(u)r “middleman, wine merchant”; compare Old Provençal abrocador, perhaps based on Spanish alboroque “gift or drink concluding a transaction” (from Arabic al-burūk “the gift, gratuity”), with -ador, from Latin -ātor -ator; alternatively, from Old French brocheor, brokeor “wine merchant,” derivative of broche ( see broach ( def. ))
Explanation
A broker is someone who buys or sells for someone else for a commission. You may go to a real estate company to get a broker to help you buy a house. In Middle English broker meant "peddler or retailer." Nowadays a broker still sells things — but she's acting as an agent making deals for someone else and collecting a commission for all that work. Used as a verb, broker means to arrange a deal or negotiate. Working for an advisory firm, a broker may convince you to invest in a company — so the broker would broker a business deal.
Vocabulary lists containing broker
This Week in Words: January 13 - 19, 2018
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for February 27–March 5, 2021
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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.
See Examples For:
However, if the stocks fall past an agreed level it can trigger what is known as a margin call - when a broker demands payment of the debt.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
After easing following the June ceasefire, war-risk insurance for a Hormuz transit has risen to as much as 10% of a ship’s value, according to insurance broker Marsh.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
A broker advised them to split up: In this market, it is every tenant for herself.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
And they broker all sorts of meetings for us in the writers room with experts from every aspect of the healthcare spectrum you can imagine.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
The average Nantucket house price last year jumped 26 percent, to $1,672 million, said H. Flint Ranney, a veteran real estate broker.
From "Class Matters" by The New York Times
That Ishbia needed a bailout didn’t surprise some critics of the company, which overtook rival Rocket Mortgage as the largest mortgage lender by dollar volume by cultivating a network of brokers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
The Chinese securities commission in May said this method of funding overseas investments was off limits and fined Futu and two other brokers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
But others rely on brokers in Gaza who charge high fees to convert electronic transfers into cash.
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026
Mike Shell, chief investment officer of Shell Capital, said that he has seen data furnished by his prime brokers that suggest this latest momentum liquidation is closer to its end than its beginning.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 31, 2026
And on the floors below us, in order of descent, were three small firms of computer dealers, attorneys, and real estate brokers.
From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee
Another advantage is that the interest earned is not automatically swept into a settlement account, as it is with some brokered CDs available.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026
It became a leading producer and exporter of liquefied natural gas, thanks to international partnerships and investments that had been brokered.
From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026
Voila, Ms. Bass brokered a compromise with her progressive City Council to delay the $30 an hour minimum by two years and phase in increases more slowly.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026
When business leaders were frustrated over the passage of a $30-per-hour minimum wage for hotel workers, Bass brokered a meeting with them and Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson, he said in December.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 4, 2026
A deal Sam conveniently ignored whenever he felt like it, and their mother, who brokered the compromise in the first place, always let Sam get away with it.
From "Time Bomb" by Joelle Charbonneau
Jesus was not brokering a deal between two powers.
From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2026
RXO is a large third-party logistics firm, or 3PL, brokering truck transportation, freight forwarding, and last-mile delivery for customers in an asset-light business model.
From Barron's ● May 7, 2026
When China was credited with brokering the Saudi-Iran rapprochement in 2023, the two nations had conducted years of back-channel talks and simply required a low-risk broker to underwrite the final agreement.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 9, 2026
European leaders and the prime minister of Pakistan, which is brokering U.S.-Iran talks, warned that the operations could be putting the truce at risk.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 9, 2026
“But I have access to Madoc. I have access to Balekin. I’m our best shot at brokering a deal.”
From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
