Jump To:

• merchant
  merchant

  noun

  a person who buys and sells commodities for profit; dealer; trader.
• Merchant
  Merchant

  noun

  Ismail (ˈɪzmeɪəl). 1936–2005, Indian film producer, noted for his collaboration with James Ivory on such films as Shakespeare Wallah (1965), The Europeans (1979), A Room with a View (1986), The Remains of the Day (1993), and The Golden Bowl (2000)

merchant

American  

[mur-chuhnt] / ˈmɜr tʃənt /

noun

• merchants
  plural

1. a person who buys and sells commodities for profit; dealer; trader.

2. a storekeeper; retailer.

   a local merchant who owns a store on Main Street.

3. Chiefly British. a wholesaler.

---

adjective

1. pertaining to or used for trade or commerce.

   a merchant ship.

2. pertaining to the merchant marine.

3. Steelmaking. (of bars and ingots) of standard shape or size.

merchant ¹ British  

/ ˈmɜːtʃənt /

noun

1. a person engaged in the purchase and sale of commodities for profit, esp on international markets; trader

2. a person engaged in retail trade

3. (esp in historical contexts) any trader

4. derogatory a person dealing or involved in something undesirable

   a gossip merchant

5. (modifier)

   1. of the merchant navy

      a merchant sailor

   2. of or concerned with trade

      a merchant ship

---

verb

1. (tr) to conduct trade in; deal in

Merchant ² British  

/ ˈmɜːtʃənt /

noun

1. Ismail (ˈɪzmeɪəl). 1936–2005, Indian film producer, noted for his collaboration with James Ivory on such films as Shakespeare Wallah (1965), The Europeans (1979), A Room with a View (1986), The Remains of the Day (1993), and The Golden Bowl (2000)

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• outmerchant
  noun
• merchant-like
  adjective
• merchantlike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• merchants
  plural

---

Etymology

Origin of merchant

1250–1300; Middle English marchant < Old French marcheant < Vulgar Latin *mercātant- (stem of *mercātāns ), present participle of *mercātāre, frequentative of Latin mercārī to trade, derivative of merx goods

---

Explanation

A merchant is someone who works in or owns a retail business and sells goods. In Paris you can stroll from merchant to merchant, buying a loaf of bread in one shop and a wedge of cheese in another. The noun merchant has its Latin roots in the word merchari, meaning to trade. Other words from the same root include "market," "merchandise," and "mercantile." In some areas, independent merchants have banded together to combine advertising dollars and compete against malls and big box stores. You should ask your neighborhood book merchant if they've considered joining a group like this.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

merchant Merchant merchants

A week earlier, aerial and maritime drones hit two merchant ships in Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone, according to Radev.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026

Meeting with his security chiefs on Tuesday, Bulgaria's prime minister said: "Another attack on merchant ships in the immediate vicinity of Bulgarian territorial waters is absolutely unacceptable".

From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026

“Retailers that successfully provide product catalogs, inventory feeds, merchant data, store information, reviews and other structured content to AI agents may gain a significant advantage,” the analysts said.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026

Across three of the exhibitions, the male Viking emerges as a warrior, a seafarer, and a merchant.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 23, 2026

Why else would a merchant feel so charitable?

From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri

Merchant, Mathew, Pabon and Bermingham have all served various jail terms.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

“Guidance embeds supply constraints leaving potential for upside,” Asiya Merchant, director of tech equity research, wrote in a note Wednesday.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 2, 2026

Entities controlled by Amistad, including Amistad Merchant Funding, Amistad STF II and Amistad Debt Warehouse 1, were among the recipients of loans from Walter’s insurers Delaware Life and Clear Spring, according to their recent filings.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026

By 2005, when the trade publication Catalog Age changed its name to Multichannel Merchant to reflect the rise of e-commerce, even legacy brands like Lands’ End and L.L.

From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2026

“The Merchant Council doesn’t think so. They wouldn’t be going to this trouble or offering up this kind of reward if they thought he’d been neutralized. Van Eck was worried. I could see it.”

From "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo

Not especially keen swimmers, they used their mousing skills to secure passage on world-traveling ships piloted by merchants and explorers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

Online merchants face a difficult decision, though: Do they embrace outside agents in hopes of a sales boost, or do they resist them?

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

“The landscape for merchants in e-commerce is becoming increasingly complex,” McPadden said.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026

The settlement would reduce fees and allow merchants to break a cardinal rule the card companies had long insisted on: accepting all cards on a network.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

He had become an outcast from the brotherhood of merchants.

From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

• broker
• dealer
• exporter
• operator
• retailer
• seller
• shipper
• shopkeeper
• trader
• trafficker
• vendor
• wholesaler

---