broker
Americannoun
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brokers
plural
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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)
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brokers,
present (3rd person singular)
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brokered,
past participle, past
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brokering
present participle
verb (used without object)
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brokers,
present (3rd person singular)
-
brokered,
past participle, past
-
brokering
present participle
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
-
(formerly) short for stockbroker
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a dealer in second-hand goods
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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brokersimple
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brokerssimple
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have brokeredperfect
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has brokeredperfect
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am brokeringprogressive
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are brokeringprogressive
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is brokeringprogressive
-
have been brokeringperfect progressive
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has been brokeringperfect progressive
Past
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brokeredsimple
-
had brokeredperfect
-
was brokeringprogressive
-
were brokeringprogressive
-
had been brokeringperfect progressive
Future
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.
See Examples For:
But after golf influencer Dave Fink revealed evidence of the broker network to his viewers, the problem became public.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2026
Another leading discount broker allowed the trade to go through.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
The prime minister noted AI will "multiply" existing threats, and pitched the UK as an "honest broker" on the technology.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
“The people who have had a bad experience are more vocal,” Nathan Garrett, a Louisville, Ky.–based real-estate broker and the owner of Realty Homes, told MarketWatch.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 22, 2026
“Mr. Beiderman will have a real estate broker start showing the apartment to prospective renters beginning tomorrow. He strongly suggests that we not be in the apartment when it is shown.”
From "The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street" by Karina Yan Glaser
These brokers, many of whom were in the Korean community, would gobble up tee times, then advertise them on social media, particularly the Korean app KakaoTalk.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2026
Microcap stocks prone to pump-and-dump trading used to be promoted by boiler-room brokers over the telephone.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
Farmers are in tight competition on prices, and price increases often come from brokers and distributors after crops leave the farm.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026
But today's deals have much stronger affordability checks and do not pose the same risks, says David Hollingworth, associate director at brokers L&C Mortgages.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
Their source for the sort of information that never gets broadcast or written down: rumors, the behavior of the sell-side brokers, the patterns on the screens.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
The Pretoria Peace Agreement of 2022, brokered by African institutions and Washington, maintained an uneasy calm until last year.
From Barron's ● Sep. 27, 2026
Last year, the US, Ukraine and Russia separately suggested that a deal to end the war was edging closer following a flurry of talks brokered by the Americans.
From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026
He recently brokered a deal for a maker of water treatment chemicals in Pittsburg, Calif., to sell hydrogen, one of its byproducts, to transit agencies.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026
Another advantage is that the interest earned is not automatically swept into a settlement account, as it is with some brokered CDs available.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026
The Adams-Jefferson rivalry and friendship is the outstanding example here, though there are several crucial moments when critical compromises were brokered because personal trust made it possible.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
A-Baki, born to Lebanese parents, was instrumental in brokering dialogue between Ecuador and Peru following their brief 1995 border war.
From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026
Jesus was not brokering a deal between two powers.
From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2026
Trump wants Xi’s help in brokering an end to the war in Iran and he hopes to announce a slew of economic deals.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026
European leaders and the prime minister of Pakistan, which is brokering U.S.-Iran talks, warned that the operations could be putting the truce at risk.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 9, 2026
“But I have access to Madoc. I have access to Balekin. I’m our best shot at brokering a deal.”
From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black
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.
