wholesaler
Americannoun
-
wholesalers
plural
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Explanation
A wholesaler is a person or business that sells items to retail stores, which then sell them to individual customers for a higher price. You could also call a wholesaler a distributor. Anyone who sells goods to other businesses, rather than directly to customers, is a wholesaler. The bookshop in your town and the big-box store in a strip mall are both retailers; they buy goods from wholesalers, who sell them large quantities of books or patio furniture, etc., to be resold to individual shoppers.
Vocabulary lists containing wholesaler
"Curtis Aikens and the American Dream" and "Go For It!"
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"Principles of Business," Vocabulary from Chapter 10
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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.
See Examples For:
Citadel Securities, the largest retail wholesaler, said that SpaceX had the highest retail order activity it had ever seen for an IPO auction.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 12, 2026
Sysco agreed to buy family-owned wholesaler Jetro Restaurant Depot for $29.1 billion...
From Barron's ● Apr. 3, 2026
“To have a wholesaler like VW support and back this direct-to-sale philosophy—changing the way that it’s operated for generations—is what’s creating this uproar,” said Dave Cantin, who runs an automotive M&A firm.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 7, 2026
The San Diego County Water Authority serves as a wholesaler, delivering water to 22 cities and other agencies that serve 3.3 million people.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 3, 2026
Her father, Charles Ford, was a produce wholesaler.
From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell
What's more over the same period, factory gate prices - the amount producers charge retailers or other wholesalers - only rose by 4%.
From BBC ● May 24, 2026
Knodell, 35, believes that policy changes are needed -- such as price caps on how much food wholesalers can charge -- to stem the ever-growing costs at restaurants.
From Barron's ● Apr. 28, 2026
Beef prices for consumers and wholesalers are at record highs as a result, and are expected to stay high for at least the next few years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 20, 2026
The company grew into one of the largest cash-and-carry wholesalers in the country, supplying independent restaurants, caterers and food retailers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 30, 2026
Father always arrived a couple of hours before the time signal in order to visit the wholesalers who supplied him with watches and parts.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
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.
