middleman

[mid-l-man]

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.

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. 2018

Related Words for middlemen

go-between, mediator, wholesaler, intermediator, influence, intercessor, broker, agent, entrepreneur, connection, intermediate, representative, distributor, salesman, fixer, jobber, interceder

Examples from the Web for middlemen

Contemporary Examples of middlemen

This gambit means Aereo is avoiding paying anything to broadcasters or the middlemen it is replacing.
What the Aereo Decision Means for You
Kyle Chayka
June 25, 2014
Literary agents are the middlemen between writers and publishing houses.
The Victims of the Penguin & Random House Merger: Literary Agents
Ella Delany
November 28, 2012
The company has amassed more than 70 worldwide resellers, middlemen like GoDaddy, who have pumped up sales volume.
How “.XXX,” Porn’s Domain Name, Made Hundreds of Millions
Alex Klein
November 13, 2012
There are no middlemen, no merchants to merchandise, no retailers to reinterpret.
Chanel, Armani, and Givenchy Present Their Haute-Couture Collections in Paris
Robin Givhan
July 4, 2012
Jews found a profitable niche as middlemen between farmers in the hinterlands and large export firms in the port.
Great Weekend Reads
The Daily Beast
March 5, 2011

Historical Examples of middlemen

"Down with the middlemen," he cried, and was applauded vigorously.
A Spoil of Office
Hamlin Garland
Basil and François were, of course, the “middlemen,” and plied the paddles.
The Young Voyageurs
Mayne Reid
Millions are wasted in advertising and in the profits of middlemen.
Society
Henry Kalloch Rowe
There are no capitalists and no middlemen, and production is only "for use," not "for profit."
British Socialism
J. Ellis Barker
If you plunder all capitalists and all middlemen, the workers will certainly not be better off.
British Socialism
J. Ellis Barker

British Dictionary definitions for middlemen

middleman

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 middlemen

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."