distributor

or dis·trib·ut·er

[ dih-strib-yuh-ter ]

noun

1. a person or thing that distributes.
2. Commerce.
   1. a person, firm, etc., engaged in the general distribution or marketing of some article or class of goods.
   2. a wholesaler who has exclusive rights to market, within a given territory, the goods of a manufacturer or company.
3. Automotive, Machinery. a device in a multicylinder engine that distributes the igniting voltage to the spark plugs in a definite sequence.
4. Printing.
   1. (in a press) one of the rollers for spreading ink on the table, rolling it to a proper consistency, and transferring it to rollers that ink the form or plate.
   2. Also called distributor bar. (in a Linotype) a bar with keylike cuts along its length, for sorting matrices into their proper magazines after type has been cast.

distributor

/ dɪˈstrɪbjʊtə /

noun

1. a person or thing that distributes
2. a wholesaler or middleman engaged in the distribution of a category of goods, esp to retailers in a specific area
3. the device in a petrol engine that distributes the high-tension voltage to the sparking plugs in the sequence of the firing order

Other Words From

• sub·dis·trib·u·tor noun
• un·der·dis·trib·u·tor noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of distributor¹

From the Late Latin word distribūtor, dating back to 1520–30. See distribute, -tor

Example Sentences

Those all get baked into the price of a wing, and companies have to decide whether to swallow that cost, or pass it along to wholesalers, distributors, restaurants and grocery stores.

From Washington Post

Rather, he says, the priority list should help vaccine distributors figure out who they need to target and what is needed to get those groups vaccinated.

From Popular-Science

As a forklift operator for Cash-Wa, a regional food distributor in Fargo, North Dakota, she enjoyed the physical challenges and responsibility of her job, and was used to working overnight hours.

From Time

The Department of Health and Human Services said it is working with Pfizer and a distributor to increase syringe and needle supplies.

From Washington Post

Sneddon declined to share more about the brands ahead of their release as the agency has “done a year of research” as well as made inroads with distributors.

From Digiday

He went on to thank his family, his gallerist, distributor, and paid tribute to artist Ian White.

From The Daily Beast

The company had repossessed some of its screws after one U.S. distributor, Spinal Solutions LLC, stopped paying its bills.

From The Daily Beast

In March, FreshPoint Central Florida, a huge distributor of fresh produce, struck a deal with Harvest Power.

From The Daily Beast

Wineberry, a New York distributor, is also packaging Bag-in-Box wines in partnership with wineries.

From The Daily Beast

In the spring of 2014, high-tech Japan will become the first off-continent distributor.

From The Daily Beast

Uncle Charley was distributor; accompanying each gift by an appropriate remark.

From Project Gutenberg

Do not pull out the carbon brushes in the distributor because you think there is not enough tension on the small brass springs.

From Project Gutenberg

The inside of the distributor block should be cleaned with a cloth moistened with gasoline and then wiped dry with a clean cloth.

From Project Gutenberg

The distributor block should be removed occasionally and inspected for an accumulation of carbon dust.

From Project Gutenberg

This distributor is timed with the crank shaft of the motor, and may be driven either by a gear or by a silent chain.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• dealer
• trader