middleman

[ mid-l-man ]

/ ˈmɪd lˌmæn /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR middleman ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural mid·dle·men.

a person who plays an economic role intermediate between producer and retailer or consumer.

a person who acts as an intermediary.

Nearby words

middlebreaker, middlebrow, middleburg heights, middlebuster, middlehand, middleman, middlemarch, middlemost, middlesborough, middlesbrough, middlescence

Origin of middleman

1400–50; late Middle English: maker of girdles; see middle, man¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for middleman

A more recent wrinkle is the doctor who prescribes from his own office, cutting out the middleman (read: pharmacist).
New Study Says Doctors Can’t “Just Say No” to Their Patients|Kent Sepkowitz|March 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But it turns out that the manager had received no such recording, due to some middleman botching the exchange.
The Real Life of Llewyn Davis|Nicholas Mancusi|November 7, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Warby Parker's reinvention of the high-priced optical industry relied on one main tactic: cutting out the middleman.
Warby Parker Thrives by Giving Away Glasses Whenever It Sells a Pair|Nina Strochlic|May 7, 2013|DAILY BEAST
As is the case with all secondary markets, however, the middleman usually takes a piece.
What to Do With Unwanted Gift Cards|Nina Strochlic|December 26, 2012|DAILY BEAST

Forget the middleman, and bring his message “straight to the people.”
Paul Ryan, Chris Christie, John McCain, and More Sunday Talk|The Daily Beast Video|September 30, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Welder, wel′dėr, n. a land-tenant holding under the farmer or middleman.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements)|Various
The poultry she raised herself; for the fish, she was a middleman between fishermen and householders.
The Best Short Stories of 1921 and the Yearbook of the American Short Story|Various
It is the middleman, the profiteer, the new capitalist here who has become an ugly and a dominant power.
The Devil's Paw|E. Phillips Oppenheim
I'm not the principal party in the transaction—I'm only the middleman.
The Making of a Soul|Kathlyn Rhodes
The storekeeper is the middleman, really serving both producer and consumer.
Our Domestic Birds|John H. Robinson

British Dictionary definitions for middleman

middleman

/ (ˈmɪdəlˌmæn) /

noun plural -men

an independent trader engaged in the distribution of goods from producer to consumer

an intermediary

theatre the interlocutor in minstrel shows

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for middleman

middleman

in the trading sense, 1795, from middle + man. From mid-15c. as the name of some type of workman in wire-making. From 1741 as "one who takes a middle course."

middleman

noun, plural mid·dle·men.

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of middleman

Examples from the Web for middleman

British Dictionary definitions for middleman

middleman

noun plural -men

Word Origin and History for middleman

middleman