Meaning & use
peddler
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A person who travels around selling small goods, often door to door or from a cart.
Grammar: Countable; plural is peddlers.
Patterns
- a peddler of something
- street peddler
A peddler came to the door selling brushes and household items.
In the market, peddlers shouted to attract customers.
He worked as a peddler, carrying his goods from town to town.
nouncountableinformal
A person who sells illegal drugs in small quantities.
Grammar: Countable; often used with 'drug' or 'of'.
Patterns
- drug peddler
- peddler of drugs
The police arrested a drug peddler near the school.
He was known as a peddler of illegal substances.
nouncountabledisapproving
A person who spreads an idea or story, often one that is not true or is harmful.
Grammar: Countable; usually followed by 'of'.
Patterns
- peddler of gossip
- peddler of lies
She was a peddler of rumors that damaged many reputations.
The article called him a peddler of false hopes.
Word forms
| plural | peddlers |
|---|
Common combinations
- street peddler
- Street peddlers sold souvenirs to tourists.
- drug peddler
- The drug peddler was caught with a small amount of heroin.
- peddler of gossip
- He was a peddler of gossip, always spreading stories.
- traveling peddler
- In the past, traveling peddlers brought news from other villages.
Synonyms and how they differ
- hawker
- Similar but often refers to someone who sells goods in the street by calling out; peddler is broader and can also mean a drug seller.
- vendor
- More neutral and often used for someone selling at a stall or event; peddler often suggests traveling or informal selling.
- seller
- A general word for anyone who sells; peddler is more specific to small-scale or traveling sales.
Word family
Commonly confused: peddler or pedaler?
peddler vs pedaler
A pedaler is a person who pedals, as on a bicycle; a peddler sells goods.
Practice
Which word means a person who travels around selling small goods?
Choose one answer.
A peddler sells goods while traveling; a pedaler pedals a bike, a pedant is overly concerned with details, and a pediatrician is a children's doctor.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “peddler”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.