distributor
Americannoun
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a person or thing that distributes.
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Commerce.
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a person, firm, etc., engaged in the general distribution or marketing of some article or class of goods.
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a wholesaler who has exclusive rights to market, within a given territory, the goods of a manufacturer or company.
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Automotive, Machinery. a device in a multicylinder engine that distributes the igniting voltage to the spark plugs in a definite sequence.
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Printing.
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(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.
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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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noun
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a person or thing that distributes
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a wholesaler or middleman engaged in the distribution of a category of goods, esp to retailers in a specific area
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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
Etymology
Origin of distributor
From the Late Latin word distribūtor, dating back to 1520–30. See distribute, -tor
Explanation
It's great that you've got something amazing to sell, but without a distributor you're not going to be able to get it to the people who want to buy it. To distribute it, you need a distributor. A dealer at a card table is as much a distributor as is the Coca-Cola Bottling Company. Both of them share the job of getting their product into the hands of the folks who want it. Whether you're handing out a dozen flyers on the street or shipping a million books to shoppers nationwide, you're a distributor. In the world of electrical engineering, a distributor is a device that sends an electrical current from one contact to another. It distributes the electricity, just like that dealer dealing cards.
Vocabulary lists containing distributor
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.
Next weekend’s “The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act,” another film sprung from a YouTube channel, has already sold $9 million of advance tickets, according to its distributor, Fathom Entertainment.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 31, 2026
A lawsuit filed this month alleges that Cento Fine Foods, a U.S.-based Italian food distributor, falsely labels its products as containing San Marzano tomatoes.
From Los Angeles Times • May 12, 2026
The portfolio, which was known as Markel Ventures until last year, includes Lansing, a building-products distributor; Brahmin, a maker of high-end handbags; and Eagle, a Virginia home builder.
From Barron's • May 8, 2026
Beyond Meat last month said it had partnered with distributor Big Geyser to launch its new Beyond Immerse sparkling drink, which contains protein and fiber, in New York this summer.
From MarketWatch • May 6, 2026
Every year Mama made enough Christmas cookies to feed the entire population of Harlem, and ever since he could remember, she appointed him the distributor.
From "The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street" by Karina Yan Glaser
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.
