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)
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brokered,
past participle, past
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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
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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:
If he sold the condo right now, he could lose the $58,000 he put down, and possibly more after factoring in broker fees and closing costs.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026
The broker reiterates its outperform rating and A$5.50/share price target on South32.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
It was Cerimedo who helped broker then-candidate Milei’s celebrated 2023 interview with Tucker Carlson, at the time a Trump confidant, an appearance that thrust Milei into the international spotlight.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2026
“Making money can be very hard” in the Chinese biotech industry, said Leon Tang, founder of InScienceWeTrust BioAdvisory, which helps broker connections between Chinese and international biotech firms.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
When they had finally reached a snowbound broker, Flora Baumbach was so nervous she dropped the telephone.
From "The Westing Game" by Ellen Raskin
Sports teams often enjoyed long and beneficial relationships with brokers, who bought out blocks of season tickets.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 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
Video captured pardon brokers Jack Burkman and Jacob Wohl, who were seen asking for $300,000 for their help, saying they worked with influencers close to Trump who would advocate for their cases.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026
The attacks damaged the operational plumbing of finance: communications networks, settlement systems, trading records, clearing banks, exchanges, brokers and the people who made them work.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
“I hated being a lawyer. My parents worked as brokers at Oppenheimer securities. They managed to finagle me a job. It’s not pretty but that’s what happened.”
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
The Gulf state has brokered dozens of prisoner swaps between Moscow and Kyiv since the start of the war.
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 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
After Koroma was charged and placed under house arrest, Ecowas brokered a deal with the government of Sierra Leone, allowing the former president to go into exile in Nigeria and seek medical attention there.
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026
A deal Sam conveniently ignored whenever he felt like it, and their mother, who brokered the compromise in the first place, always let Sam get away with it.
From "Time Bomb" by Joelle Charbonneau
In 2022, she pulled off a diplomatic feat by brokering the Black Sea Grain Initiative between Moscow and Kyiv to allow grain exports following Russia's invasion.
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
Jesus was not brokering a deal between two powers.
From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2026
More recently, the Vatican played a pivotal role in brokering a diplomatic thaw between the U.S. and Cuba in 2014.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 23, 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.
