distributor

American  

[dih-strib-yuh-ter] / dɪˈstrɪb yə tər /

Or distributer

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.

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distributor British  

/ 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

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Other Word Forms

• subdistributor noun
• underdistributor noun

Etymology

Origin of distributor

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

Example Sentences

“The storm itself is likely to slow activity between producers and distribution points,” Pettinari wrote on Monday, “but contractor activity should pick up when the storm passes, boosting distributor out-the-door sales.”

From Barron's

Right now, natural gas distributors are taking gas out of storage, depleting the nation’s reserves.

From Barron's

Enphase also plans to cut costs by relying on distributors to cover sales in certain smaller markets, prioritizing research and development in its core products and software, and boosting productivity with artificial intelligence and automation.

From The Wall Street Journal

It is buying a gas distributor business in western Ohio for $2.6 billion from CenterPoint Energy, which David also recommended earlier today.

From Barron's

More than 80% of sales come from business-to-business distributors, which is helped by some 20 million soap and sanitizer dispensers that help drive recurring sales.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• dealer
• trader