pawnbroker
noun
pawn·bro·ker
ˈpȯn-ˌbrō-kər 
ˈpän-
: one who lends money in exchange for personal property that can be sold if the loan is not repaid by a certain time
Examples of pawnbroker in a Sentence
He was desperate for money so he hocked his watch to a pawnbroker.
Recent Examples on the Web
The two founded a record company of their own, Vee Jay Records, using $500 borrowed from a pawnbroker.
—
The Indianapolis Star, 13 Aug. 2016
Gun sellers in this story were based on license categories 1, 2 and 9 from the ATF, which includes dealers in firearms other than destructive devices, including gunsmiths; pawnbrokers that sell firearms other than destructive devices; and dealers of destructive devices.
—Ramsey Archibald | Rarchibald@al.com, al, 10 July 2023
Because of these limits, banks kept interest rates between 6 and 12 percent and didn’t do much business with the poor, who in a pinch took their valuables to the pawnbroker or the loan shark.
—Matthew Desmond, New York Times, 9 Mar. 2023
For example, if someone builds a firearm at home and then sells it to a pawnbroker or another licensed dealer, that dealer must add a serial number to the weapon before selling it to a customer.
—Michael Collins, USA TODAY, 11 Apr. 2022
The first hardware man, dealer in fancy articles, clerk in a department store, or pawnbroker would have sold me a revolver and asked no questions.
—Ian Buruma, Harper’s Magazine , 18 Jan. 2022
The woman, Elizabeth Daniels, was arrested and charged with several crimes, including theft from an at-risk person and providing a false statement to a pawnbroker, according to police records.
—Clare Ansberry, WSJ, 28 Dec. 2021
Raskolnikov, a haughty and penniless student flitting about the slums of St. Petersburg, brutally murders a nasty old lady—a pawnbroker—and her blameless, just-happened-to-be-there sister.
—James Parker, The Atlantic, 19 Oct. 2021
In practice, according to the California attorney general’s office, this means any loan from a bank, savings and loan, credit union, finance corporation or even a pawnbroker is exempt from the usury law.
—Los Angeles Times, 30 July 2021
The Indianapolis Star, 13 Aug. 2016
Gun sellers in this story were based on license categories 1, 2 and 9 from the ATF, which includes dealers in firearms other than destructive devices, including gunsmiths; pawnbrokers that sell firearms other than destructive devices; and dealers of destructive devices.
—Ramsey Archibald | Rarchibald@al.com, al, 10 July 2023
Because of these limits, banks kept interest rates between 6 and 12 percent and didn’t do much business with the poor, who in a pinch took their valuables to the pawnbroker or the loan shark.
—Matthew Desmond, New York Times, 9 Mar. 2023
For example, if someone builds a firearm at home and then sells it to a pawnbroker or another licensed dealer, that dealer must add a serial number to the weapon before selling it to a customer.
—Michael Collins, USA TODAY, 11 Apr. 2022
The first hardware man, dealer in fancy articles, clerk in a department store, or pawnbroker would have sold me a revolver and asked no questions.
—Ian Buruma, Harper’s Magazine , 18 Jan. 2022
The woman, Elizabeth Daniels, was arrested and charged with several crimes, including theft from an at-risk person and providing a false statement to a pawnbroker, according to police records.
—Clare Ansberry, WSJ, 28 Dec. 2021
Raskolnikov, a haughty and penniless student flitting about the slums of St. Petersburg, brutally murders a nasty old lady—a pawnbroker—and her blameless, just-happened-to-be-there sister.
—James Parker, The Atlantic, 19 Oct. 2021
In practice, according to the California attorney general’s office, this means any loan from a bank, savings and loan, credit union, finance corporation or even a pawnbroker is exempt from the usury law.
—Los Angeles Times, 30 July 2021
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pawnbroker.' 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 pawnbroker
Cite this Entry
“Pawnbroker.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pawnbroker. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
pawnbroker
noun
pawn·bro·ker
ˈpȯn-ˌbrō-kər
ˈpän-
: a person who makes a business of lending money and keeping personal property as a guarantee
Legal Definition
pawnbroker
noun
pawn·bro·ker
ˈpȯn-ˌbrō-kər
: a person who lends money on the security of personal or movable property pledged in his or her keeping or who buys personal property and gives the seller an opportunity to buy back the property
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