Thesaurus.com
Dictionary.com
Definitions

vendor

[ven-der, ven-dawr] / ˈvɛn dər, vɛnˈdɔr /


Frequently Asked Questions

What is another word for vendor?
Vendor is a word for a person, company, or other entity that sells things. When it’s an individual person selling things from a stall in a street market, the term street vendor is often used. More old-fashioned words for a person who sells things on the street include peddler and hawker. Perhaps the closest synonym for vender is seller. It gets at exactly what a vendor does—sells things—and it can be used for both individuals and companies. Similar words include merchant and retailer. More specific words include dealer and supplier, which both are most often used in the context of businesses that sell to other businesses. (They’re sometimes also used in illegal contexts.)
What is a third party vendor?
The term third party vendor refers to a business that is authorized to provide goods or services to customers on the behalf of the main business. The term third party is used because the additional business is tangential to the transactional relationship between the primary business and the customer. Another word for third party vender is third party seller. For example, the retailer Amazon features many third party sellers, some of which you can also buy from directly without using Amazon’s fulfillment services.
How do you use vendor in a sentence?
The word vendor is a common word in the context of commerce involving all kinds of businesses. Here are some examples of vendors in a sentence:
  • The fair had hundreds of food vendors offering all kinds of delicious fried foods —it was heaven.
  • Vendors across the region have been seeing their sales increase by large margins.
  • We reached out to our vendors to inquire about the shipping delays.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Next he became a peanut vendor at Forbes Field.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2026

He said we still could apply to receive public money this school year, but as a vendor providing educational services such as tutoring.

From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2026

As the AI boom took hold in the early 2020s, Scale grew into a key vendor for top AI labs, making Wang one of the world’s youngest self-made billionaires.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

"It's hitting my wallet hard!" said Anya Dmyterko, a 35-year-old vendor at the market in Boryspil, outside Kyiv.

From Barron's ● Sep. 27, 2026

Departing, he visited a movie theater, where, uncharacteristically, he chatted with an usher and a candy vendor.

From "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote

DJ and party attendee Sarah Graves loves the queer vendors selling accessories, giving out harm-reduction materials, and zines, and the Piercings by Mire booth that frequently pops up at the rave.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026

Syleecia Thompson, a business professor at National University, said that "it hits small businesses, vendors, caterers and local communities".

From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026

Link gives vendors a one-time virtual card number instead of real card details and includes protections, such as a return guarantee.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026

The group includes parents, caregivers and vendors who meet regularly to identify neighborhood priorities and work with city agencies and community organizations.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026

There Clarkson had to push his way through a crowd of vendors selling coffins and patent medicine cures.

From "An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793" by Jim Murphy




Vocabulary lists containing vendor


Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Look it up. Learn it forever.

Remember new words for good with VocabTrainer. Expand your vocabulary effortlessly with personalized learning tools that adapt to your goals.

Take me to Vocabulary.com