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Synonyms

wholesaler

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

noun

  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.


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.

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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.

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 water will move from one area to the other through the pipelines of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, the regional wholesaler that imports water from the Colorado River and Northern California.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 20, 2026

I hurried down to the door, introduced him hastily to the wife of an Amsterdam wholesaler, and got him upstairs.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

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