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

All County’s ostensible purpose was to be the purchasing agent for Fred Trump’s buildings, buying everything from boilers to cleaning supplies.

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

I’d write back and say that the person’s business had a purchasing agent whose job it was to buy materials at the lowest price, and we wanted consumers to do the same thing.

From Washington Post • Nov. 21, 2015

Lance Hamann, 40, works as a purchasing agent for the Department of Agriculture at a vocational jobs center in Puxico, Mo. His salary is a bit more than $40,000.

From New York Times • Dec. 6, 2010

What was needed was a responsible person or syndicate who would act as purchasing agent, financing the operation against the harvest.

From Command by McFee, William