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purchasing agent

American  

noun

  1. a person who buys materials, supplies, equipment, etc., for a company.

  2. an independent buyer acting as a hired agent.


Etymology

Origin of purchasing agent

First recorded in 1920–25

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.

Agents also searched the homes of the company’s chief executive, David Duong, and his son, Andy Duong, a purchasing agent who is in charge of the company’s public relations.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 16, 2025

But Michael Clark, 69, a retired purchasing agent for an oil company who considers himself an independent, said the inquiry “has merit — we need to know the truth whatever the truth may be.”

From New York Times • Oct. 12, 2019

“He is his own purchasing agent, cashier, paymaster, building superintendent, construction engineer and sales director,” the article said.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 2, 2018

When FBI agents arrested Bahram Mechanic in April last year, prosecutors described the Houston-based Iranian-American entrepreneur as an illegal purchasing agent for Iran’s military and a threat to national security.

From Reuters • Jan. 21, 2016

A great public-utility corporation with thousands of branch offices throughout the United States had as its purchasing agent for many years an old gorgon.

From Certain Success by Hawkins, Norval A.