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
Derived 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 attributed his conduct to being an active trader.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 2, 2026
“In simple terms, the trader is buying downside protections for July and funding most of it by selling June puts,” says SpotGamma.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 1, 2026
Casting his discerning eye on the pile was Ahmad Mastour, a gum trader with Afritec, a Sudanese gum-processing company.
From Los Angeles Times • May 31, 2026
Back in 2019, he was stacking shelves in Walmart, but the 26-year-old has since become a full-time crypto trader and content creator.
From BBC • May 21, 2026
“If people had known about the trade, it would have been open revolt,” said one UBS bond trader close to the action.
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.
