vendors

NOUN

person who sells wares

Synonyms

STRONGEST

dealer hawker merchant peddler

STRONG

businessperson huckster pitcher traveler

WEAK

outcrier traveling salesperson

Antonyms

STRONGEST

customer

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.

We’re up against systems that often prioritize ed-tech and third-party vendors over smaller class sizes and more teachers.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 1, 2026

She has also had to source beeswax from other vendors across the country to keep up with demand.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 1, 2026

Food vendors across Asia who rely on plastics for everything from bags to cups and containers are grappling with their rising costs, the result of the energy crisis sparked by the Middle East war.

From Barron's • Jun. 28, 2026

As my mum and I walked, talking and eating tacos and fruit drenched in chilli and lime from street vendors, we felt immense pride in being Mexican.

From BBC • Jun. 22, 2026

There were big shops on botfi sides of the street, and vendors crowded the tiny sidewalks.

From "A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier" by Ishmael Beah