distributor

Or dis·trib·ut·er

[dih-strib-yuh-ter]

noun

1. a person or thing that distributes.

2. Commerce.

   1. a person, firm, etc., engaged in the general distribution or marketing of some article or class of goods.

   2. a wholesaler who has exclusive rights to market, within a given territory, the goods of a manufacturer or company.

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

4. Printing.

   1. (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.

   2. 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.

distributor

/ dɪˈstrɪbjʊtə /

noun

1. a person or thing that distributes

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

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

Other Word Forms

• subdistributor noun
• underdistributor noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of distributor¹

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

Example Sentences

Much of the gain came because the company said the medical-supply distributor Medline is a new customer, its first in the healthcare sector.

Read more on Barron's

Black Bear Pictures, which has developed and co-financed movies since 2012, has released films in the U.K. and owns Canadian distributor Elevation Pictures.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Despite critical accolades and, in the case of “Voice,” a record standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival, none of these submissions were able to secure major distributors in the U.S.

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Purdue and other opioid makers and distributors were accused of encouraging free-wheeling prescription of their products through aggressive marketing tactics while hiding how addictive the drugs are.

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While contract disputes between programmers and distributors are commonplace, they are often resolved before any channels actually go dark.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• dealer 
• trader