dealer
Americannoun
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dealers
plural
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a person who buys and sells articles without altering their condition; trader or merchant, especially a wholesaler.
I got a dealer's discount on this coat.
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Cards. the player distributing the cards.
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a person who behaves or acts toward another or others in a specified manner.
a plain dealer.
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Slang. a person who buys and sells drugs illegally.
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a person who buys securities for their own account and retains them until sold to another.
noun
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a person or firm engaged in commercial purchase and sale; trader
a car dealer
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cards the person who distributes the cards
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slang a person who sells illegal drugs
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of dealer
First recorded before 1000; Middle English delere, Old English dǣlere. See deal 1, -er 1
Explanation
Anyone whose job (or hobby) involves buying and reselling something is a dealer. If you buy candy in bulk and sell it to your friends at a profit, you can call yourself a candy dealer. Sometimes this term implies that the goods being sold are illegal or illicit. It's even more commonly used to describe people who sell art, cars, or antiques. If you play poker with your friends and it's your turn to hand out the cards, you're also a dealer. This meaning, a player who passes out the cards in a game, dates from 1600.
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.
See Examples For:
In his woods in Pietra Marazzi, Marco Boido, 49, a truffle dealer and restaurateur in nearby Alessandria, is also disappointed and worried.
From Barron's ● Nov. 4, 2026
A second is owned by Frank Sytner, a former car dealer and race car driver who bought it in 2024 from another onetime race car driver in Brazil, who’d had it for decades.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 1, 2026
The exhibition is billed as McGee’s first gallery exhibit with Deitch in more than 20 years, although the artist and dealer have collaborated on projects since the 1990s.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026
Harley-Davidson’s third-quarter net income fell as a year-earlier gain and a shift in its dealer inventory strategy weighed, but the maker of high-end motorbikes boosted its sales volume projection for the year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026
She and Levi had gone to the local Chevrolet dealer to fill out the entry form and pick up a copy of the official rules, which read like a familiarization manual for an airplane.
From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly
Howard’s documentary features interviews with fellow photographers, models, magazine editors, writers, former assistants and art dealers, including Larry Gagosian, who reminisces about meeting Avedon for the first time in New York in the mid-1970s.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 4, 2026
They mostly related to when car dealers received commission from lenders, based on the interest rate charged to the customer.
From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2026
Honda no longer treats Tier 1 and Tier 2 ads for its Acura brand as separate campaigns, but creates national ads with iterations for local dealers to choose from.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026
The sales survey for August showed broad growth among retailers, driven by activity at new car dealers and with higher gasoline prices lifting spending at the pumps.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026
Matteo Alacran formed an alliance with the other dealers and approached the leaders of the United States and Mexico.
From "The House of the Scorpion" by Nancy Farmer
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
