noun
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a person who engages in trade; dealer; merchant
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a vessel regularly employed in foreign or coastal trade
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stock exchange a member who operates mainly on his or her own account rather than for customers' accounts
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of trader
Explanation
A trader is a person who either buys goods and resells them, like a merchant who runs a store or a person who buys and sells stocks and bonds. The original meaning of trader was "one engaged in commerce," meaning someone who makes a living buying things and selling them at a profit. Originally, traders would literally trade goods for other goods, while today most of them trade goods for money. Financial traders work solely with money, buying and selling currency, stocks, bonds, and funds.
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.
He is an experienced trader and money manager and is the author of the book, Options As A Strategic Investment.
From MarketWatch • May 22, 2026
Zanjani—a former sheepskin trader who became one of Iran’s wealthiest men and most famous sanctions busters—ratcheted up activity on Binance through his crypto firm, Zedcex, in 2024, Binance compliance reports show.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 22, 2026
One cryptocurrency trader who took part in the antiregime protests in January said he now has no choice but to register for the government-filtered internet to keep working in his fast-paced industry.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 21, 2026
It was used in closing speeches of four people who pulled down the statue of slave trader Edward Colston in Bristol in June 2020 - all four defendants were acquitted despite admitting their involvement.
From BBC • May 12, 2026
“The ratings agencies didn’t really have their own CDO model,” says one former Goldman CDO trader.
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.
