MERCHANT

[noun] [C] - a person whose job it is to buy and sell products in large amounts, esp. by trading with other countriesThe main canals in Amsterdam are lined with houses built by wealthy merchants in the 17th and 18th centuries.They worked illegally as arms merchants.The booklet lists restaurants, baker's shops and wine merchants which remain open in August.(slang disapproving) A merchant is also someone who is involved in or enjoys something which is unpleasant or annoying to others.My next door neighbour's a real gossip merchant (= She enjoys talking about people's private lives).The film is being ruthlessly promoted by Hollywood's hype merchants (= people who try to get as much public attention as they can for the film).Police have set up hidden cameras on main roads to catch speed merchants (= people who like to drive too fast).A merchant bank is a bank which is involved with companies rather than with people.(informal) Companies which make weapons are sometimes called merchants of death. (informal) A merchant of doom/gloom is a person who tends to see the negative side of a situation.With exports rising and unemployment falling, the merchants of gloom are having to revise their opinions of the economy.The merchant navy or merchant shipping (esp. US merchant marine) means a country's ships that are involved with trade, not fighting.A merchant seaman is a sailor who works on a trading ship.