dealer
Americannoun
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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:
“If you’re a car dealer, you could be doing it.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026
He is said to have "raked in £270,000 for doing just 12 hours' work as a brand ambassador for a gold bullion dealer".
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026
“In some cases, dealers cannot achieve compliance through changes to their own advertising alone as other entities such as vehicle manufacturers, web providers, and third-party vehicle listing sites routinely participate in dealer ads.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026
The arms dealer of the artificial-intelligence race is looking to raise new debt even as it continues to print money.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 15, 2026
The dealer flipped it over with an alligator’s smile.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
It has been a bonanza for options dealers who use stochastic calculus to spit out the right prices.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
Those types of games are supposed to be offered only in Native American casinos, but cardrooms were getting around the restriction by using designated outside dealers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026
Sales had been sliding for years, the automaker’s relationship with dealers was on the rocks, and the entire organization was reeling from a scandal involving its former chief executive’s arrest and flight from justice.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
Other categories with relatively strong growth were car and auto parts dealers and online vendors.
From Barron's ● Jun. 17, 2026
But would he be able to maneuver in the world of art dealers and buyers?
From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman
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.
