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• merchant
  merchant

  noun

  a person who buys and sells commodities for profit; dealer; trader.
• Merchant
  Merchant

  noun

  Ismail (ˈɪzmeɪəl). 1936–2005, Indian film producer, noted for his collaboration with James Ivory on such films as Shakespeare Wallah (1965), The Europeans (1979), A Room with a View (1986), The Remains of the Day (1993), and The Golden Bowl (2000)

merchant

American  

[mur-chuhnt] / ˈmɜr tʃənt /

noun

• merchants
  plural

1. a person who buys and sells commodities for profit; dealer; trader.

2. a storekeeper; retailer.

   a local merchant who owns a store on Main Street.

3. Chiefly British. a wholesaler.

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adjective

1. pertaining to or used for trade or commerce.

   a merchant ship.

2. pertaining to the merchant marine.

3. Steelmaking. (of bars and ingots) of standard shape or size.

merchant ¹ British  

/ ˈmɜːtʃənt /

noun

1. a person engaged in the purchase and sale of commodities for profit, esp on international markets; trader

2. a person engaged in retail trade

3. (esp in historical contexts) any trader

4. derogatory a person dealing or involved in something undesirable

   a gossip merchant

5. (modifier)

   1. of the merchant navy

      a merchant sailor

   2. of or concerned with trade

      a merchant ship

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verb

1. (tr) to conduct trade in; deal in

Merchant ² British  

/ ˈmɜːtʃənt /

noun

1. Ismail (ˈɪzmeɪəl). 1936–2005, Indian film producer, noted for his collaboration with James Ivory on such films as Shakespeare Wallah (1965), The Europeans (1979), A Room with a View (1986), The Remains of the Day (1993), and The Golden Bowl (2000)

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• outmerchant
  noun
• merchant-like
  adjective
• merchantlike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• merchants
  plural

Etymology

Origin of merchant

1250–1300; Middle English marchant < Old French marcheant < Vulgar Latin *mercātant- (stem of *mercātāns ), present participle of *mercātāre, frequentative of Latin mercārī to trade, derivative of merx goods

Explanation

A merchant is someone who works in or owns a retail business and sells goods. In Paris you can stroll from merchant to merchant, buying a loaf of bread in one shop and a wedge of cheese in another. The noun merchant has its Latin roots in the word merchari, meaning to trade. Other words from the same root include "market," "merchandise," and "mercantile." In some areas, independent merchants have banded together to combine advertising dollars and compete against malls and big box stores. You should ask your neighborhood book merchant if they've considered joining a group like this.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

merchant Merchant merchants

With more than 320,000 seafarers, India makes up a major part of the global merchant shipping workforce.

From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026

Alongside him, Cristian Lara, a 50-year-old merchant, thanked the festival organizers for "blessing" his house with a mural, and stated that there are "new winds of change" in El Salvador.

From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026

In 2018, a Greek merchant ship dating back more than 2,400 years was found lying on its side off the Bulgarian coast.

From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026

They include PepsiCo and the spice merchant McCormick & Co., which both cited nontariff price increases as a target of the refunds.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026

Bass and the other archaeologists concluded the merchant captain of the ship used these broken implements as scrap bronze, which he or someone else could melt down to make brand-new tools.

From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler

“While demand remains strong, we continue to see variability tied to customer timing, mix sensitivity, working capital intensity and customer concentration,” Asiya Merchant, technology equity analyst at Citigroup, wrote in a note on Wednesday.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 12, 2026

“The difference of Insurance is such that every Merchant Orders their Goods shipped in British Bottoms.”

From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026

AUS Merchant Services admitted its compliance program failed to prevent illegal sales.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026

“It could be a limited rollout similar to Vision Pro due to supply constraints and possible hardware challenges,” Merchant noted.

From Barron's ● Jun. 16, 2026

Along the walls were portraits: Merchant Lyte in his handsome, healthy youth; Lavinia, painted long before in London, as regal a child as now she was a young woman.

From "Johnny Tremain" by Esther Hoskins Forbes

"The bigger concern would be if charges eventually reach small and informal merchants in less-developed districts, where merchant networks are still thin and adoption is still maturing."

From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026

Management attributed the momentum to traction with larger merchants and self-onboarded sellers alike.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026

An American flag flutters above the red brick building, while merchants cluster and converse outside its entrance.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026

By giving merchants and residents a common way to measure goods, the system helped make exchanges more consistent for everyone.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 30, 2026

The merchants stroked their beards, considering the offer and preparing a counterbargain.

From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri

Related Words

• broker
• dealer
• exporter
• operator
• retailer
• seller
• shipper
• shopkeeper
• trader
• trafficker
• vendor
• wholesaler