purveyor
Americannoun
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a person who purveys, provides, or supplies.
a purveyor of foods; a purveyor of lies.
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Old English Law. an officer who provided or acquired provisions for the sovereign under the prerogative of purveyance.
noun
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(often plural) a person, organization, etc, that supplies food and provisions
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a person who spreads, repeats, or sells (information, lies, etc)
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a person or thing that habitually provides or supplies a particular thing or quality
a purveyor of humour
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history an officer providing or exacting provisions, lodging, etc, for a sovereign
Etymology
Origin of purveyor
1250–1300; Middle English pourveour < Anglo-French; purvey, -or 2
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.
From Home Goods to His Royal Highness King Charles lll’s purveyor, 15 places Los Angeles designers say they shop for rugs.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026
The cheeky Midwestern T-shirt purveyor Raygun has an “Iowa Needs Insufferable Wenches” shirt that raises money for their efforts.
From Salon • Mar. 28, 2026
In the case of pet-food purveyor Freshpet —our worst pick, with a decline of 54%—we not only misunderstood the company’s moat but got the timing wrong, too.
From Barron's • Jan. 29, 2026
Speaking of ‘meh’: Netflix is far from the only purveyor of ”mid” TV, with Peacock’s recent missing-child thriller series “All Her Fault” another prime example.
From MarketWatch • Nov. 30, 2025
What kind of purveyor of the future could only tell stories from the past?
From "Moon Over Manifest" by Clare Vanderpool
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.
