Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Showing results for wholesaler. Search instead for wholesale vendors.
Synonyms

wholesaler

American  
[hohl-sayl-er] / ˈhoʊlˌseɪl ər /

noun

  • wholesalers
    plural
  1. a business that sells products primarily to manufacturers, distributors, retailers, and other client companies rather than to end-use consumers, usually for less than the retail price.


Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Explanation

A wholesaler is a person or business that sells items to retail stores, which then sell them to individual customers for a higher price. You could also call a wholesaler a distributor. Anyone who sells goods to other businesses, rather than directly to customers, is a wholesaler. The bookshop in your town and the big-box store in a strip mall are both retailers; they buy goods from wholesalers, who sell them large quantities of books or patio furniture, etc., to be resold to individual shoppers.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing wholesaler

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:

Citadel Securities, the largest retail wholesaler, said that SpaceX had the highest retail order activity it had ever seen for an IPO auction.

From MarketWatch Jun. 12, 2026

Alderney Electricity is the main wholesaler for the island's fuel, which is shipped from the UK via Guernsey.

From BBC Apr. 7, 2026

Sysco agreed to buy family-owned wholesaler Jetro Restaurant Depot for $29.1 billion...

From Barron's Apr. 3, 2026

The San Diego County Water Authority serves as a wholesaler, delivering water to 22 cities and other agencies that serve 3.3 million people.

From Los Angeles Times Mar. 3, 2026

We'd gotten them from a Turkish wholesaler: blue branches spreading across a shiny white background, a design called the tree of life.

From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda

Lab tests of further samples from wholesalers found meat content "differed significantly" from what was on the labels.

From BBC Jun. 6, 2026

Knodell, 35, believes that policy changes are needed -- such as price caps on how much food wholesalers can charge -- to stem the ever-growing costs at restaurants.

From Barron's Apr. 28, 2026

Among wholesalers, the largest component of Canada’s services sector, sales were up in five of the seven sectors tracked.

From The Wall Street Journal Apr. 15, 2026

Beef prices for consumers and wholesalers are at record highs.

From The Wall Street Journal Mar. 25, 2026

One reason is they make less money than supermarkets, wholesalers, and food processors.

From "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Join 12,000,000 vocabulary learners

Start learning new words today on VocabTrainer.
You'll remember them forever.

Start training