purveyor
Americannoun
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a person who purveys, provides, or supplies.
a purveyor of foods; a purveyor of lies.
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Old English Law. an officer who provided or acquired provisions for the sovereign under the prerogative of purveyance.
noun
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(often plural) a person, organization, etc, that supplies food and provisions
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a person who spreads, repeats, or sells (information, lies, etc)
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a person or thing that habitually provides or supplies a particular thing or quality
a purveyor of humour
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history an officer providing or exacting provisions, lodging, etc, for a sovereign
Etymology
Origin of purveyor
1250–1300; Middle English pourveour < Anglo-French; see purvey, -or 2
Explanation
A purveyor is someone who supplies goods — often food or drinks. If you're a seafood purveyor, you will always smell a bit fishy — which is no surprise, considering that you sell cod and haddock all day long. A purveyor can be someone who provides food or drinks, as in the popcorn purveyor who walks up and down through the stands of a baseball game trying to peddle his salty treats. When you go to the circus you will see clowns, who are purveyors of silliness because of their repertoire of fun and hilarious stunts.
Vocabulary lists containing purveyor
Fast Food Nation
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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.
In the case of pet-food purveyor Freshpet —our worst pick, with a decline of 54%—we not only misunderstood the company’s moat but got the timing wrong, too.
From Barron's • Jan. 29, 2026
The clients discover they don’t really need the magic candies to solve their problems, and the purveyor learns something essential about human behavior—his secret motivation for helping.
From Salon • Dec. 26, 2025
For three decades, Jim Gaffigan has been a famous purveyor of stand-up comedy for all ages.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 1, 2025
Speaking of ‘meh’: Netflix is far from the only purveyor of ”mid” TV, with Peacock’s recent missing-child thriller series “All Her Fault” another prime example.
From MarketWatch • Nov. 30, 2025
Miss Sadie was an awful purveyor of the future, but she sure knew how to spin a tale from the past.
From "Moon Over Manifest" by Clare Vanderpool
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.
