merchant

1 of 3

noun

mer·​chant ˈmər-chənt How to pronounce merchant (audio)
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

2 of 3

adjective

1
: of, relating to, used in, or engaged in commerce
The city's reputation, though, is as a merchant city in this nation historically known for its traders.Peter Theroux
2
: of, relating to, or used in a merchant marine
part of the merchant fleet
One hundred years ago, a group of 11 senators blocked a bill that would have allowed U.S. merchant ships to arm themselves against German U-boats as World War I raged in Europe.James Hohmann

merchant

3 of 3

verb

merchanted; merchanting; merchants

transitive verb

: to deal or trade in

intransitive verb

archaic : to deal or trade as a merchant

Examples of merchant in a Sentence

Noun 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 on the Web
Noun
Some of these merchants also said that this fee, coupled with another that Amazon will soon charge for low inventory levels, will force them to pass on price increases to Amazon customers. Jason Del Rey, Fortune, 1 Mar. 2024 These economies of scale enable Walmart, Kroger and a handful of other mass merchants to dominate market share in dozens of metro areas. Errol Schweizer, Forbes, 27 Feb. 2024 The one group keeps a balance, bringing the company interest revenue, while the high-end customers spend heavily on their cards, bringing in fee revenue from merchants. Ken Sweet, The Christian Science Monitor, 23 Feb. 2024 Indeed, the series packs each episode with Easter eggs that are sure to delight fans, including a certain familiar earworm and the return of everyone’s favorite cabbage merchant. Devan Coggan, EW.com, 22 Feb. 2024 What is the advantage for Capital One of owning a credit card network? Discover, originated by Sears in the mid-1980s to get into the financial services business, has a network of 70 million merchant acceptance points in more than 200 countries and territories, according to the deal announcement. Laurence Darmiento, Los Angeles Times, 20 Feb. 2024 In a memorable scene from that film, which won the FIPRESCI award after premiering in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes, a Chinese merchant dines with his African girlfriend before launching into a karaoke set. Christopher Vourlias, Variety, 19 Feb. 2024 West Africans independently developed surfing before outsiders arrived; since at least the 1640s, sea merchants knew surf patterns well and used wooden surf-canoes to fish and ride 10-foot tall waves. Condé Nast Traveler, 16 Feb. 2024 In 1829, a group of explorers led by Spanish merchant Antonio Armijo moved west toward Alta California through the arid Mojave Desert—the ancestral lands of the Southern Paiute people. Chris Carra, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 Feb. 2024
Adjective
OPay currently processes about 80% of bank transfers among mobile money operators in Nigeria and 20% of non-merchant point of sales transactions, Akpan said. Tope Alake, Bloomberg.com, 23 Dec. 2020 So basically merchant refineries should not be the ones that have to purchase these credits or blend the ethanol. Jacob Weisberg, Slate Magazine, 23 Aug. 2017

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'merchant.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

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

First Known Use

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of merchant was in the 13th century

Dictionary Entries Near merchant

Cite this Entry

“Merchant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/merchant. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

merchant

1 of 2 noun
mer·​chant ˈmər-chənt How to pronounce merchant (audio)
1
: a buyer and seller of goods for profit
especially : one who carries on trade on a large scale or with foreign countries
2

merchant

2 of 2 adjective
1
: of, relating to, or used in trade
a merchant ship
2
: of or relating to a merchant marine
Etymology

Noun

Middle English marchant "merchant," from early French marcheant (same meaning), derived from Latin mercari "to trade," from merc-, merx "merchandise" — related to commerce, market

Legal Definition

merchant

noun
mer·​chant ˈmər-chənt How to pronounce merchant (audio)
: 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 kindUniform Commercial Code

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