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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:

A vendor selling savoury pancakes, who did not give his name, said two universities had been established since the facilities were built.

From Barron's Aug. 19, 2026

“I’m officially broke,” one distraught vendor posted on social media.

From The Wall Street Journal Aug. 13, 2026

Investors have been concerned about Workday’s monetization prospects and its ability to maintain subscription growth in the face of AI-native vendor competition and decreasing company headcounts.

From MarketWatch Aug. 13, 2026

Kim said weekly water quality testing will be required and that the vendor would have to have someone trained in lifesaving techniques on site during operating hours.

From Los Angeles Times Aug. 13, 2026

The fruit vendor put her arm around Yuni and squeezed her for comfort.

From "Finding Junie Kim" by Ellen Oh

Another factor, according to a former Navy operations officer, is that some of the usual local vendors, especially of fresh food, cut back their supplies, fearing that they too would be attacked by Iran.

From Slate Aug. 19, 2026

When AFP visited last month, street vendors were catering to data centre workers on their lunchbreak near a roadside banner calling for "promoting high-quality development", a government tech policy catchphrase.

From Barron's Aug. 19, 2026

He also noted that older adults will be able to use their benefits at retailers where they actually shop, “as opposed to forcing people to go to work with vendors that they’ve never heard of.”

From MarketWatch Aug. 18, 2026

The costumes, the vendors, the food — all of it transports you to another world in such a magical way.

From Los Angeles Times Aug. 18, 2026

Jostling among mango and avocado vendors, he sells cups of diced fruit.

From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario




Vocabulary lists containing vendor


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