vendor

American  

[ven-der, ven-dawr] / ˈvɛn dər, vɛnˈdɔr /

noun

vendors plural

1. a person or agency that sells.

2. vending machine.

---

vendor British  

/ ˈvɛndɔː, ˈvɛndə /

noun

1. law a person who sells something, esp real property

2. another name for vending machine

---

Usage

What is a vendor? A vendor is a person or business that sells something, as in The school lunch really improved after it changed food vendors. A vendor is also a machine that dispenses items after you put money into it. It’s more often called a vending machine. Example: The vendor told me that the box has a scratch, so she’s selling it cheap.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• vendors
  plural

Etymology

Origin of vendor

1585–95; < Anglo-French vendo ( u ) r < Latin venditor. See vend, -or ²

Explanation

If you are a vendor, it means you’re a person selling something, whether it’s hot dogs from a food cart or computer software for a tech company. The word vendor comes from the Latin word vendere, meaning “to sell.” Vendor is a name for people who sell things on the street, such as a hot dog vendor, but it can describe those who sell any kind of goods or services, especially a specialized product. A store at the mall isn't usually called a vendor, but you could use the word to describe the person or group that supplies the store with special products or services.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

vendor vendors

That, in turn, would result in lower costs for end users, the letter noted, while open weights also give customers more autonomy over their technology, preventing vendor lock-in.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026

A swap meet vendor who made up to $1,500 a week on Saturday and Sunday before the raids and now only makes up to $500.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026

Anton, a copywriter living in Moscow, said a vendor at a vinyl shop offered him a discount for paying in cash.

From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026

While Nvidia is the leading vendor of AI chips, a wave of startups is trying to challenge its dominance, buoyed by the success of Cerebras Systems and Groq.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026

On the street, I see a fruit vendor stacking oranges and small plastic containers of strawberries on his cart.

From "The Sky at Our Feet" by Nadia Hashimi

Working in food truck businesses has given Ramirez first-hand knowledge of how to efficiently lay out a mobile kitchen and set up new food vendors for success before they even pick up a knife.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026

For vendors "the main cost... will be to have an inverter system installed. We're looking at financial solutions, loans, other things the city can provide," she added.

From Barron's ● Jul. 25, 2026

This time will be different, the council hopes, as it envisions a subscription-based model whereby vendors pay a fee to access batteries and charging stations.

From Barron's ● Jul. 25, 2026

The sportswear giant will cut off most online third-party vendors selling its products to take more control.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026

Rupa’s next indoor task was to sift through a bag of uncooked rice from the market and pick out the small stones the vendors mixed in to make it weigh more.

From "Tiger Boy" by Mitali Perkins

Related Words

• dealer
• hawker
• merchant
• peddler