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Synonyms

trader

American  
[trey-der] / ˈtreɪ dər /

noun

  1. a person who trades; a merchant or businessperson.

  2. a ship used in trade, especially foreign trade.

  3. a member of a stock exchange trading privately and not on behalf of customers.

trader British  
/ ˈtreɪdə /

noun

  1. a person who engages in trade; dealer; merchant

  2. a vessel regularly employed in foreign or coastal trade

  3. stock exchange a member who operates mainly on his or her own account rather than for customers' accounts

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • nontrader noun
  • tradership noun
  • undertrader noun

Etymology

Origin of trader

First recorded in 1575–85; trade + -er 1

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.

Though Arini finished 4% ahead that difficult year, he recruited Deutsche Bank trader Ardacan Celebi, another graduate of a French math school.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 4, 2026

Buffett said Berkshire gets by with just one trader, adding that investment firms don’t need a lot of people to handle their trades.

From Barron's • Mar. 31, 2026

As portfolios go, the one put forward by John Arnold, the billionaire energy trader turned philanthropist, doesn’t get simpler.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 30, 2026

According to the BBC, one trader made $436,000 on a $32,000 bet on the timing of the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

From Salon • Mar. 26, 2026

Lippmann was merely the trader responsible for buying and selling subprime mortgage bonds and, by extension, credit default swaps on subprime mortgage bonds.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

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.