monger
Americannoun
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a person who is involved with something in a petty or contemptible way (usually used in combination).
a gossipmonger.
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Chiefly British. a dealer in or trader of a commodity (usually used in combination): cheesemonger.
fishmonger;
cheesemonger.
verb (used with object)
noun
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(in combination except in archaic use) a trader or dealer
ironmonger
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(in combination) a promoter of something unpleasant
warmonger
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of monger
First recorded before 1000; Middle English noun monger(e), mounger, Old English mangere, equivalent to mang(ian) “to trade, act as a monger” (ultimately from Latin mangō “salesman”) + -ere agent noun suffix; cognate with Old Norse, Old High German mangari; see -er 1
Explanation
A monger is a seller, especially of something specific like a fish monger or an iron monger. You can use the noun monger as a word on its own, although it frequently shows up as a suffix, in words like cheesemonger. Monger can also be used as a verb meaning "to sell or peddle." In both cases, the word is a bit old fashioned, used more often these days to describe a person who promotes something hurtful, as in warmonger. The Old English root word is mangere, "merchant or broker," from the Latin mango, "dealer or trader."
Vocabulary lists containing monger
Novel Study: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Chapters 1–7
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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.
Kraft mac and cheese, first sold in 1937 for 19 cents a box, was the creation of Chicago cheese monger James L. Kraft, who got his start selling cheese from a horse-drawn wagon.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 2, 2026
Surf and turf at Salt & Iron, the PNW’s finest sushi at SanKai, The Mar-ket fish monger and eatery where lobster rolls are a crowd favorite, among others.
From Seattle Times • Jun. 8, 2022
Despite his last name and the negative connotation of monger, this intense and angry antihero, played by Michael B. Jordan, captures the sympathy of viewers.
From Textbooks • Dec. 21, 2021
It was a cesspool only a conspiracy monger could have completely enjoyed.
From Salon • Oct. 17, 2020
Whereby I have now once again given the costard monger his pees and his cues.
From Anna St. Ives by Holcroft, Thomas
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.
