distributor

or dis·trib·ut·er

[ dih-strib-yuh-ter ]

/ dɪˈstrɪb yə tər /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR distributor ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a person or thing that distributes.

Commerce.

a person, firm, etc., engaged in the general distribution or marketing of some article or class of goods.
a wholesaler who has exclusive rights to market, within a given territory, the goods of a manufacturer or company.

Automotive, Machinery. a device in a multicylinder engine that distributes the igniting voltage to the spark plugs in a definite sequence.

Printing.

(in a press) one of the rollers for spreading ink on the table, rolling it to a proper consistency, and transferring it to rollers that ink the form or plate.
Also called distributor bar. (in a Linotype) a bar with keylike cuts along its length, for sorting matrices into their proper magazines after type has been cast.

Words related to distributor

trader, dealer, merchandiser, salesperson, jobber

Words nearby distributor

distributive, distributive bargaining, distributive education, distributive law, distributive property, distributor, distributorship, district, district attorney, district council, district court

Origin of distributor

From the Late Latin word distribūtor, dating back to 1520–30. See distribute, -tor

OTHER WORDS FROM distributor

sub·dis·trib·u·tor, nounun·der·dis·trib·u·tor, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for distributor

The company had repossessed some of its screws after one U.S. distributor, Spinal Solutions LLC, stopped paying its bills.
Patients Screwed in Spine Surgery ‘Scam’|The Center for Investigative Reporting|November 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Wineberry, a New York distributor, is also packaging Bag-in-Box wines in partnership with wineries.
Taking Boxed Wine Seriously: It’s Not Just for Hobos and Teenagers Anymore|Jordan Salcito|March 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
According to Lee, the remake had a 140-minute cut that he and Brolin preferred, but the distributor slashed it to 105 minutes.
What Asian Film Remakes Like ‘Oldboy’ Get Wrong|Jimmy So|November 26, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Securing a U.S. distributor for a movie with so much violence, sex, and drugs has also proved difficult.
The Movie ‘Filth’ Is Fun!|Nico Hines|October 1, 2013|DAILY BEAST

Lashes later took a break and began to work behind the music scene as a distributor for different artists.
Ben Lashes, Meme Manager for Internet Celebrities|Kelsey Meany|August 25, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Be sure each high-tension terminal and wire on distributor head is pushed as far into its socket as it will go.
Essex Terraplane Six 1933 Owner's Manual of Information|Anonymous
The distributor is heated at two opposite points on a diameter by the burners, b b, above which are the chimneys, e e.
Scientific American Supplement, No. 633, February 18, 1888|Various
Three years later he resigned his office of Distributor of Stamps in favour of his s., and received a civil list pension of £300.
A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature|John W. Cousin
Remove your distributor a mile, and his carts and travellers must scour the country for customers.
The Impossibilities of Anarchism|George Bernard Shaw
Nor would self-interest let him be a distributor of fiction alone or even primarily.
Social Transformations of the Victorian Age|T. H. S. (Thomas Hay Sweet) Escott

British Dictionary definitions for distributor

distributor

distributer

/ (dɪˈstrɪbjʊtə) /

noun

a person or thing that distributes

a wholesaler or middleman engaged in the distribution of a category of goods, esp to retailers in a specific area

the device in a petrol engine that distributes the high-tension voltage to the sparking plugs in the sequence of the firing order

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