noun
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a person who engages in trade; dealer; merchant
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a vessel regularly employed in foreign or coastal trade
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stock exchange a member who operates mainly on his or her own account rather than for customers' accounts
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of trader
Explanation
A trader is a person who either buys goods and resells them, like a merchant who runs a store or a person who buys and sells stocks and bonds. The original meaning of trader was "one engaged in commerce," meaning someone who makes a living buying things and selling them at a profit. Originally, traders would literally trade goods for other goods, while today most of them trade goods for money. Financial traders work solely with money, buying and selling currency, stocks, bonds, and funds.
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.
Lin isn’t the only trader obsessed with Hyperliquid and its token.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 2, 2026
"Look at the sun," said Himanshu, a trader standing beside crates of tomatoes.
From BBC • Jun. 1, 2026
Casting his discerning eye on the pile was Ahmad Mastour, a gum trader with Afritec, a Sudanese gum-processing company.
From Los Angeles Times • May 31, 2026
It is true whether you are a scalper, a swing trader or a value investor like Warren Buffett.
From MarketWatch • May 26, 2026
“I haven’t been there for years, but I had a good friend in the town—a trader in salamandric fire.”
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
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.
