monger

American  

[mong-ger, muhng-] / ˈmɒŋ gər, ˈmʌŋ- /

noun

1. a person who is involved with something in a petty or contemptible way (usually used in combination).

   a gossipmonger.

2. Chiefly British. a dealer in or trader of a commodity (usually used in combination): cheesemonger.

   fishmonger;

   cheesemonger.

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verb (used with object)

1. to sell; hawk.

monger British  

/ ˈmʌŋɡə /

noun

1. (in combination except in archaic use) a trader or dealer

   ironmonger

2. (in combination) a promoter of something unpleasant

   warmonger

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Other Word Forms

• mongering noun

Etymology

Origin of monger

First recorded before 1000; Middle English noun monger(e), mounger, Old English mangere, equivalent to mang(ian) “to trade, act as a monger” (ultimately from Latin mangō “salesman”) + -ere agent noun suffix; cognate with Old Norse, Old High German mangari; -er ¹

Example Sentences

Kraft mac and cheese, first sold in 1937 for 19 cents a box, was the creation of Chicago cheese monger James L. Kraft, who got his start selling cheese from a horse-drawn wagon.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 2, 2026

Mr. Lazar released a raft of documents on the FBI’s tracking of one of its own former special agents, Willard Cleon Skousen, a far-right Mormon leader and conspiracy monger.

From Washington Post • Nov. 8, 2022

Wolter also knows that plenty of people would write him off as just another conspiracy monger.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 27, 2022

Despite his last name and the negative connotation of monger, this intense and angry antihero, played by Michael B. Jordan, captures the sympathy of viewers.

From Textbooks • Dec. 21, 2021

I only wish," he said, "that we could encounter the deceitful monger responsible for including this road among les grands itinéraires.

From Jonah and Co. by Yates, Dornford