Definition of "merchant"

merchant

/ˈmɝt͡ʃənt/

noun
plural merchants
1. A person who traffics in commodities for profit.
2. The owner or operator of a retail business.
3. A trading vessel; a merchantman.
  Quotations
  Every day, some sailor's wife, / The masters of some merchant, and the merchant, / Have just our theme of woe.
  1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, [Act II, scene i], line 5
4. (informal, sometimes derogatory) Someone who is noted for a stated type of activity or behaviour.
5. (obsolete) A supercargo.
verb
third-person singular simple present merchants, present participle merchanting, simple past and past participle merchanted
1. As a resident of a region, to buy goods from a non-resident and sell them to another non-resident.