merchant

noun mer·chant \ ˈmər-chənt \

Definition of merchant

1 :a buyer and seller of commodities for profit :trader

2 :the operator of a retail business :storekeeper

3 :one that is noted for a particular quality or activity :specialist

a speed merchant on the base paths

—

merchant

adjective

See merchant defined for English-language learners

See merchant defined for kids

Examples of merchant in a Sentence

Merchants traveled hundreds of miles to trade in the city.
a family of wealthy merchants
The town's merchants closed their shops during the parade.
Prizes were given by local merchants.

Recent Examples of merchant from the Web

Harry Bolton, director of marine programs at California State University Maritime Academy and a merchant marine officer who has traversed the waters near Singapore dozens of times.

— hannah beech, The Seattle Times, "Avoiding detection may make some Navy ships vulnerable," 26 Aug. 2017
Keyo charges merchants a 1 percent processing fee, much less than the standard 2 to 5 percent fee typically charged by credit card payment processing companies.

— cheryl v. jackson, chicagotribune.com, "Keyo lets you pay for food, drink and goods with a wave of the hand," 23 Aug. 2017
Ginevra and Niccolini were members of the Florentine elite, a group that included bankers, traders and merchants.

— john kelly, Washington Post, "Fifty years ago, the National Gallery of Art dispatched a team on a secret mission," 22 Aug. 2017
Merchants peddling pro- or anti-Trump items, who were once a fixture outside the building but had largely disappeared, were back on Monday selling their wares.

— matthew haag and sarah maslin nir, New York Times, "Thousands Give Trump Bronx Cheers as He Returns to Manhattan Home," 14 Aug. 2017
During those discussions, merchants and others were split over whether allowing vehicles on Fourth Street was a good idea.

— phillip m. bailey, The Courier-Journal, "City allows Fourth Street Live to continually close block without permits," 7 Aug. 2017
The resident and merchant association has launched a 56-question survey asking for input on Five Points South businesses, safety, cleanliness, amenities, parking and more.

— erin edgemon, AL.com, "Help plan the future of Birmingham's Five Points South at upcoming workshop," 22 July 2017
Planet Fundraiser makes its money by charging the merchants.

— kelly poe, AL.com, "Planet Fundraiser expanding to Nashville, Montgomery, Tuscaloosa," 13 July 2017
If double-entry book-keeping freed accounting from the merchant’s head, the blockchain frees it from the confines of an organisation.

— The Economist, "If blockchains ran the worldDisrupting the trust business," 13 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'merchant.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of merchant

Middle English marchant, from Anglo-French, from Vulgar Latin *mercatant-, mercatans, from present participle of mercatare to trade, frequentative of Latin mercari — more at market

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 13th century

See Words from the same year

merchant Synonyms

Synonyms

dealer, merchandiser, trader, tradesman, trafficker

Related Words

businessman, enterpriser, entrepreneur; buyer, marketer, purchaser; hawker, huckster, hustler, peddler (also pedlar); retailer, seller, shopkeeper, storekeeper, vendor (also vender); engrosser, monopolist; jobber, middleman, wholesaler; distributor, provider, provisioner, purveyor, supplier

Other Business Terms

amortize, caveat emptor, clearinghouse, divest, due diligence, emolument, green-collar, marque, overhead, perquisite

merchant

verb

Definition of merchant

intransitive verb

archaic :to deal or trade as a merchant

transitive verb

:to deal or trade in

First Known Use of merchant

14th century

Other Business Terms

amortize, caveat emptor, clearinghouse, divest, due diligence, emolument, green-collar, marque, overhead, perquisite

MERCHANT Defined for English Language Learners

merchant

noun

Definition of merchant for English Language Learners

: someone who buys and sells goods especially in large amounts
: the owner or manager of a store
: someone who is known for a particular quality, activity, etc.

MERCHANT Defined for Kids

merchant

noun mer·chant \ ˈmər-chənt \

Definition of merchant for Students

1 :a person who buys and sells goods especially on a large scale or with foreign countries

2 :storekeeper 1

Law Dictionary

merchant

noun mer·chant \ ˈmər-chənt \

legal Definition of merchant

:a person who trades in goods especially of a certain kind and possesses expertise in the area of the goods and the practices of trading in them or who employs others with such expertise

a warranty that the goods shall be merchantable is implied in a contract for their sale if the seller is a merchant with respect to goods of that kind
—Uniform Commercial Code