broker
Americannoun
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an agent who buys or sells for a principal on a commission basis without having title to the property.
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a person who functions as an intermediary between two or more parties in negotiating agreements, bargains, or the like.
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
noun
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an agent who, acting on behalf of a principal, buys or sells goods, securities, etc, in return for a commission
insurance broker
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(formerly) short for stockbroker
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a dealer in second-hand goods
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of broker
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English broco(u)r, from Anglo-French abrocour, broco(u)r “middleman, wine merchant”; compare Old Provençal abrocador, perhaps based on Spanish alboroque “gift or drink concluding a transaction” (from Arabic al-burūk “the gift, gratuity”), with -ador, from Latin -ātor -ator; alternatively, from Old French brocheor, brokeor “wine merchant,” derivative of broche ( see broach ( def. ))
Explanation
A broker is someone who buys or sells for someone else for a commission. You may go to a real estate company to get a broker to help you buy a house. In Middle English broker meant "peddler or retailer." Nowadays a broker still sells things — but she's acting as an agent making deals for someone else and collecting a commission for all that work. Used as a verb, broker means to arrange a deal or negotiate. Working for an advisory firm, a broker may convince you to invest in a company — so the broker would broker a business deal.
Vocabulary lists containing broker
This Week in Words: January 13 - 19, 2018
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"Hip-Hop as Culture" and "I Am Somebody"
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for February 27–March 5, 2021
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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.
My broker was big on Cisco Systems, and you remember how that turned out: the stock took until last December to regain its peak of $80.06 in March 2000.
From Barron's • May 31, 2026
The franchisee, Harshad Dharod, who has branches mostly in Southern California, intends to close 10 of the branches he controls and find a buyer for the remainder, according to a broker helping find buyers.
From Los Angeles Times • May 30, 2026
Europeans are easily spooked, but they also increasingly think the U.S. isn’t an honest broker.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 29, 2026
The United States and Iran have been trying to broker a deal to end the Middle East war and reopen the crucial waterway since a fragile ceasefire came into force on April 8.
From Barron's • May 26, 2026
The average Nantucket house price last year jumped 26 percent, to $1,672 million, said H. Flint Ranney, a veteran real estate broker.
From "Class Matters" by The New York Times
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.
