dealer
Americannoun
-
dealers
plural
-
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.
-
Cards. the player distributing the cards.
-
a person who behaves or acts toward another or others in a specified manner.
a plain dealer.
-
Slang. a person who buys and sells drugs illegally.
-
a person who buys securities for their own account and retains them until sold to another.
noun
-
a person or firm engaged in commercial purchase and sale; trader
a car dealer
-
cards the person who distributes the cards
-
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:
There were no failed auctions, no dealer balance-sheet seizure, no forced unwinds, nothing resembling Treasurys in March 2020 or U.K. gilts in September 2022, the sort of genuine dysfunctional episodes that justify official action.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
The four-door Mustang was shown at a dealer event this week, the people said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
A rapid shift in dealer gamma positioning, falling implied volatility and heavy activity in bullish call options appears to have amplified the move.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026
Gamma measures how quickly an option’s delta changes as the underlying index moves, while net dealer gamma estimates how market makers’ exposure to the contracts they have sold, or bought, may influence their hedging activity.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026
After three calls he found a dealer who had one of the kind and size required, but this man was tied up with a wedding and couldn’t tear himself away.
From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck
Two months after Chinese-owned electric-vehicle maker Polestar was forced to exit the U.S. market, the company is telling its American dealers that it was blindsided by the decision.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
At first, dealers had practical concerns: How does a small shop that has never packaged an order bigger than 20 books even ship a batch of 200?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026
So, if I walk up to someone tonight, maybe one of the younger dealers, they'll noticeably swallow.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
Among major categories, retail sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers were down 1.8 percent from the prior month.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
“Those dealers did not discuss these things. Each of the three knew the pearl was valueless.”
From "The Pearl" by John Steinbeck
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.
