pawnbroker

noun

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pawn·bro·ker | \ ˈpȯn-ˌbrō-kər

, ˈpän- \

Definition of pawnbroker

: one who lends money in exchange for personal property that can be sold if the loan is not repaid by a certain time

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Examples of pawnbroker in a Sentence

He was desperate for money so he hocked his watch to a pawnbroker.

Recent Examples on the Web 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 pawnbroker provided replicas of the gun used in the shooting and Pinkston traced the rifle to Klein’s Sporting Goods in Chicago. — Meagan Hurley, Dallas News, 15 Apr. 2021 In killing the old miserly pawnbroker for money, Raskolnikov seeks to purchase his freedom from an existence of degradation. — Los Angeles Times, 14 Jan. 2021 Financial and insurance institutions: Bank, currency exchanges, consumer lenders, credit unions, title companies, financial markets, payday lenders and pawnbrokers. — John Fay, Cincinnati.com, 22 Mar. 2020 See More

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

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Dictionary Entries Near pawnbroker

pawnage

pawnbroker

pawnbrokerage

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Cite this Entry

“Pawnbroker.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pawnbroker. Accessed 26 Jun. 2022.

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More Definitions for pawnbroker

pawnbroker

noun

pawn·bro·ker | \ ˈpȯn-ˌbrō-kər

Kids Definition of pawnbroker

: a person who lends money in exchange for personal property that can be sold if the money is not repaid

pawnbroker

noun

pawn·bro·ker | \ ˈpȯn-ˌbrō-kər

Legal Definition of pawnbroker

: 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