insider
Americannoun
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a person who is a member of a group, organization, society, etc.
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a person belonging to a limited circle of persons who understand the actual facts in a situation or share private knowledge.
Insiders knew that the president would veto the bill.
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a person who has some special advantage or influence.
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a person in possession of corporate information not generally available to the public, as a director, an accountant, or other officer or employee of a corporation.
noun
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a member of a specified group
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a person with access to exclusive information
Etymology
Origin of insider
Explanation
An insider is someone, usually one of a small group, who has access to secret or private information. A political insider knows what really goes on behind the scenes in a campaign or a senator's office. In a large company, insiders are privy to financial information or details about the way things work — information that isn't available to an ordinary employee or the general public. In the financial world, an insider knows things about the businesses whose stock is being traded, and "insider trading" is when they illicitly use this information for personal gain.
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.
One posted on LinkedIn about being sponsored for the event by Fatmir Mediu, an Albanian government official and longtime Fellowship insider.
From Salon • May 29, 2026
They typically focus on Polymarket, whose offshore, crypto-based platform isn’t overseen by U.S. regulators and has drawn repeated allegations of insider trading and market manipulation.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 28, 2026
As a result, this also puts a strain on federal regulators like the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which are charged with helping to stop insider trading.
From MarketWatch • May 28, 2026
Sharp-eyed observers like Jeong are proving to be an unexpected ally of law enforcement as it tackles the emerging challenge of insider trading on prediction markets.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 28, 2026
“You know, it really isn’t fair that you all get insider information and we don’t,” Will says, glaring at Uriah.
From "Divergent" by Veronica Roth
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.
