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Synonyms

buyer

American  
[bahy-er] / ˈbaɪ ər /

noun

  1. a person who buys; purchaser.

  2. a purchasing agent, as for a department or chain store.

buyer British  
/ ˈbaɪə /

noun

  1. a person who buys; purchaser; customer

  2. a person employed to buy merchandise, materials, etc, as for a shop or factory

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of buyer

First recorded in 1150–1200, buyer is from the Middle English word beger, bier. See buy, -er 1

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.

China, the world's largest importer of natural gas, is a major buyer from Russia and the Middle East, but seeks to diversify its energy sources.

From Barron's • Apr. 21, 2026

Call options give the buyer the right to buy the underlying asset at a specified price within a certain timeframe.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 20, 2026

Its buyer was the Titanic Museum Attraction in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, and Branson, Missouri, and the seat is to go on exhibition, the auctioneer said.

From BBC • Apr. 18, 2026

Closing that gap requires the government to show up as a builder, a buyer and a champion.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026

While the water swirled and jetted around him, he wondered how he might somehow be able to dump Levy' Pants in the lap of some poor buyer.

From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole

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.