wholesaler
Americannoun
-
wholesalers
plural
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.
Vocabulary lists containing wholesaler
"Curtis Aikens and the American Dream" and "Go For It!"
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"Principles of Business," Vocabulary from Chapter 10
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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 utility said 42% of what customers pay is a “mandated pass-through to our water wholesaler, Valley Water, which we have no control over.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
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
Philadelphia-based PC wholesaler Intelligent Electronics then hired him as chief operating officer in its reseller division.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 21, 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
Within days of arriving in Kansas City, Jack had a job working for a clothing-distribution wholesaler, sweeping floors and moving boxes.
From "Surviving Hitler: A Boy in the Nazi Death Camps" by Andrea Warren
Sales by Canada’s wholesalers, who make up the largest component of the country’s services sector, dropped by 1.6% between July and August to C$91.58 billion and fell by a sharper 1.8% in volume terms.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
Robert K. Stumberg, professor at Georgetown Law and supply-chain expert, said grocers typically buy from wholesalers and rarely track their suppliers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
Sales by food, drink and tobacco wholesalers also were up for the month, led by increased food industry volumes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
Two wholesalers interviewed by AFP on condition of anonymity said they are still sourcing from Iran, notably via Omani ports.
From Barron's ● Sep. 13, 2026
One reason is they make less money than supermarkets, wholesalers, and food processors.
From "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan
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