pawnbroker

American  

[pawn-broh-ker] / ˈpɔnˌbroʊ kər /

noun

1. a person whose business is lending money at interest on personal, movable property deposited with the lender until redeemed.

---

pawnbroker British  

/ ˈpɔːnˌbrəʊkə /

noun

1. a dealer licensed to lend money at a specified rate of interest on the security of movable personal property, which can be sold if the loan is not repaid within a specified period

---

Other Word Forms

• pawnbroking noun

Etymology

Origin of pawnbroker

First recorded in 1680–90; pawn ¹ + broker

Example Sentences

Vestiges of Reseda’s small-town beginning still survive in block after block of single-story businesses like the Traders pawnbroker and jewelry store at the intersection of Reseda Boulevard and Sherman Way.

From Los Angeles Times

She took a variety of wartime jobs including working in a hairdressers, as a hat maker and - finally - in a pawnbroker's shop.

From BBC

His father, a manager in a jewellery and pawnbroker's business, had progressed sufficiently in life to be buying his own house.

From BBC

It works with jewelers, miners, pawnbrokers and dealers to “convert materials into marketable, high-purity gold products while ensuring transparency and competitive settlements.”

From Los Angeles Times

It was never just about the neon, that Cubist, consumerist razzle-dazzle cantilevered over Hong Kong’s streets announcing pawnbrokers and mooncake bakers, saunas and shark’s fin soup shops.

From New York Times