dealer

The word “dealer” means a person or business that buys and sells a particular kind of goods. In plain terms, someone whose job is buying and selling goods (or, informally, illegal drugs), or who hands out cards in a game.

“Dealer” is pronounced DEE-luh (/ˈdiːlə(ɹ)/ in IPA).

Here is “dealer” used in a sentence: “He bought the car from a local dealer.”

“Dealer” is a noun.

The word “dealer” comes from Old English. From Old English daelere, built on deal plus -er, "one who deals".

“Dealer” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the B1 level.

“Dealer” has 3 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: a person or business that buys and sells a particular kind of goods.

A dealer buys and sells goods on their own account, taking ownership of the stock they trade. A broker arranges deals between other parties without owning the goods, earning a commission for making the connection.

A distributor supplies goods in bulk to retailers and dealers within a supply chain. A dealer usually sells directly to the end customer, so a car dealer sells vehicles to the public while a distributor supplies the dealers.

The terms overlap, but a dealer often specializes in one particular kind of goods and may trade in both new and used items, such as a car or antiques dealer. A retailer is a more general term for any business selling goods to the public.

No. The main meaning of dealer is a person or business that buys and sells a particular kind of goods, such as an art dealer or car dealer. It only means an illegal drug seller when the context makes that clear.