dealer
Americannoun
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dealers
plural
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a person who buys and sells articles without altering their condition; trader or merchant, especially a wholesaler.
I got a dealer's discount on this coat.
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Cards. the player distributing the cards.
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a person who behaves or acts toward another or others in a specified manner.
a plain dealer.
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Slang. a person who buys and sells drugs illegally.
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a person who buys securities for their own account and retains them until sold to another.
noun
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a person or firm engaged in commercial purchase and sale; trader
a car dealer
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cards the person who distributes the cards
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slang a person who sells illegal drugs
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of dealer
First recorded before 1000; Middle English delere, Old English dǣlere. See deal 1, -er 1
Explanation
Anyone whose job (or hobby) involves buying and reselling something is a dealer. If you buy candy in bulk and sell it to your friends at a profit, you can call yourself a candy dealer. Sometimes this term implies that the goods being sold are illegal or illicit. It's even more commonly used to describe people who sell art, cars, or antiques. If you play poker with your friends and it's your turn to hand out the cards, you're also a dealer. This meaning, a player who passes out the cards in a game, dates from 1600.
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:
Citi upgraded Harley-Davidson to Buy, citing improving retail sales and dealer sentiment, with the returning Sportster offering another potential boost.
From Barron's ● Oct. 5, 2026
After paying a deposit, a dealer sent a flatbed carrying Michigan’s first Topolino.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
After appearing in BBC coverage she was contacted by the used car dealer, who told her that the refund was accepted.
From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026
He referred to himself as an “international arms dealer and mercenary,” the request for a restraining order said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026
This merchant directed me to a dealer who sold me a serviceable horse.
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
Indirect bidders, which include foreign institutions, took more than 80% of the issue, while primary dealers were left with just 2.5%.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026
The drop-off is forcing dealers to compete more for routine, out-of-pocket maintenance and repair business.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2026
As a reporter for the Sunday World newspaper, he had built a reputation for stories which exposed paramilitaries and drug dealers operating in Northern Ireland.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026
Analysts said traders were presented with a "Goldilocks" batch of figures that provided a fillip to equities on Wall Street as the dealers revised lower the likelihood of a second successive interest rate hike.
From Barron's ● Oct. 1, 2026
Losher’s redeemed the stale bread from the dealers and sold it at half price to the poor.
From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith
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.
