vendor
Americannoun
-
law a person who sells something, esp real property
-
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
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.
Vocabulary lists containing vendor
100 SAT Words Beginning with "V"
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
The Lemonade War
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
The Color of My Words
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
The chili dog vendor, which has been at the corner of La Brea and Melrose for 80 years, is set to open its first location in Japan at the end of this year.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
Investors have been concerned about Workday’s monetization prospects and its ability to maintain subscription growth in the face of AI-native vendor competition and decreasing company headcounts.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026
The brand became a go-to vendor for last-minute seats to Beyoncé, Broadway and the baseball playoffs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
Street vendor Maribel Verano, 46, is desperately searching for her missing mother and sister.
From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026
At the suggestion of Shin’s new friend, who knew cheap places to eat, they stopped on the way to his apartment and bought hot noodles from a street vendor.
From "Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West" by Blaine Harden
Pereira's worst affected neighborhoods were also its most impoverished, with homeless people, Venezuelan migrants and street vendors in precarious situations bearing the brunt of the impact.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
Beside vendors selling flags, university student Pirooz Mirzaie said the government has brought security, infrastructure projects and "plenty of opportunities for entrepreneurs".
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
"But in the most extreme temperatures, it's simply unsafe for vendors to be out and selling, and when the heat forces them to cut their working day short, the financial impact is immediate."
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
The production used more than 370 local vendors and shot at 41 locations.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
Drowning out all other noise is the music that blares from many sidewalk shops of the cassette vendors.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
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.
