Did you know?
Since inter- means "between, among", an intermediary is someone who moves back and forth in the middle area between two sides—a "go-between". Mediator (which shares the medi- root) is often a synonym, and so is facilitator; broker and agent are often others. Thus, a real-estate broker or agent shuttles between a house's buyer and seller, who may never even meet each other. Financial intermediation is what happens when you put money in a bank or investment firm, which then invests it in various companies; if you want, you can instead cut out the intermediary and invest the money directly in companies of your own choosing.
Synonyms
Examples of intermediary in a Sentence
Seth Joseph, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024
During the two-week trial, prosecutors described Chan as a crucial intermediary between Huizar, who wielded huge power over development projects at City Hall, and Chinese real estate developers looking to build high-rises in downtown Los Angeles.
—David Zahniser, Los Angeles Times, 27 Mar. 2024
The Living Wage for Musicians Act would create a new payment system, the Artist Compensation Royalty Fund, that circumvents record labels and other intermediaries, funneling listeners’ money directly to artists.
—Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 7 Mar. 2024
Royalties from the new fund would similarly be distributed proportionally to track streams, but with a few key distinctions: First, labels and other intermediaries would not take a cut before that money reaches artists.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 6 Mar. 2024
The digital coin was originally envisioned as a decentralized alternative to the traditional financial system, a way for people to exchange funds without relying on banks or other intermediaries.
—David Yaffe-Bellany, New York Times, 5 Mar. 2024
In their 2008 white paper, released in the shadow of a global financial meltdown, Nakamoto sketched a vision for a new electronic money and peer-to-peer payment system that would obviate the need for troublesome intermediaries like banks.
—Joel Khalili, WIRED, 2 Feb. 2024
In order to help pay for the federal government’s large budget deficit, the Federal Reserve allows private sector companies to earn a little extra money, often through an intermediary, by essentially lending money to the Federal Reserve overnight.
—Will Daniel, Fortune, 11 Mar. 2024
Sullivan’s remarks came after a round of talks was held in Paris on Friday, when officials from Israel, Egypt, the United States and Qatar, which acts as an intermediary for Hamas, met to discuss a new framework for a deal.
—Silvia Foster-Frau, Washington Post, 25 Feb. 2024
Siddharth Kara, Foreign Affairs, 28 Feb. 2023
President Joe Biden’s administration unveiled an initial set of export controls in 2022 and strengthened them last October to include more technology and curb sales to intermediary nations that might undermine the ban.
—Jane Lanhee Lee, Fortune Asia, 5 Mar. 2024
Clarifying statutory authority is crucial to FDA oversight of third-party advertising of prescription medicines, including intermediary agencies or influencers.
—Sneha Dave, STAT, 22 Jan. 2024
The proposal also includes intermediary steps, such as securing Ukrainian nuclear sites, ensuring grain exports and exchanging prisoners of war.
—Jim Tankersley, New York Times, 16 Jan. 2024
According to Vestager, an EC investigation launched in 2021 found that Google may have favored its own ad tech services when serving as an intermediary ad exchange, matching advertiser supply and publisher demand for advertising space online.
—Ashley Belanger, Ars Technica, 14 June 2023
In the first seven months of the Ukraine war, goods worth at least $777 million from Western chip manufacturers were imported into Russia via intermediary companies in countries including China, Kazakhstan, and Turkey.
—Foreign Affairs, 3 Nov. 2023
Molecular Coffee Grind In 2005, about five years after Bloch died, Brocks and colleagues reported in Nature the first hints that such intermediary molecules once existed.
—Yasemin Saplakoglu, Quanta Magazine, 23 Oct. 2023
The company says that offering this intermediary service may make sense for interactive platforms like social networks.
—Lily Hay Newman, WIRED, 31 Aug. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'intermediary.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near intermediary
Cite this Entry
“Intermediary.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/intermediary. Accessed 17 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
intermediary
noun
Share