middleman
Americannoun
plural
middlemen-
a person who plays an economic role intermediate between producer and retailer or consumer.
-
a person who acts as an intermediary.
noun
-
an independent trader engaged in the distribution of goods from producer to consumer
-
an intermediary
-
theatre the interlocutor in minstrel shows
Etymology
Origin of middleman
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.
Jury selection is currently scheduled for 26 October and a trial is expected to continue with Smith and their alleged middleman Jacobson, even if Jeffries is ruled incompetent.
From BBC • Mar. 28, 2026
“You’re hiring a middleman to deal with the middleman to make the middleman more efficient,” he said.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 14, 2026
They hold up as an example how credit-card companies may be disintermediated and see margins contract, but merchants and consumers would benefit by this process of eliminating the middleman, allowing economic activity to actually increase.
From MarketWatch • Feb. 24, 2026
They have done their homework, found the factory, and cut out the middleman.
From Barron's • Feb. 15, 2026
On one occasion, Borgenicht realized that his only chance to undercut bigger firms was to convince the wholesalers to sell cloth to him directly, eliminating the middleman.
From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell
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.
