distributor

American  

[dih-strib-yuh-ter] / dɪˈstrɪb yə tər /

Or distributer

noun

1. a person or thing that distributes.

2. Commerce.

   1. a person, firm, etc., engaged in the general distribution or marketing of some article or class of goods.

   2. a wholesaler who has exclusive rights to market, within a given territory, the goods of a manufacturer or company.

3. Automotive, Machinery. a device in a multicylinder engine that distributes the igniting voltage to the spark plugs in a definite sequence.

4. Printing.

   1. (in a press) one of the rollers for spreading ink on the table, rolling it to a proper consistency, and transferring it to rollers that ink the form or plate.

   2. Also called distributor bar.  (in a Linotype) a bar with keylike cuts along its length, for sorting matrices into their proper magazines after type has been cast.

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distributor British  

/ dɪˈstrɪbjʊtə /

noun

1. a person or thing that distributes

2. a wholesaler or middleman engaged in the distribution of a category of goods, esp to retailers in a specific area

3. the device in a petrol engine that distributes the high-tension voltage to the sparking plugs in the sequence of the firing order

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Other Word Forms

• subdistributor noun
• underdistributor noun

Etymology

Origin of distributor

From the Late Latin word distribūtor, dating back to 1520–30. See distribute, -tor

Related Words

• dealer
• trader