distributor

or dis·trib·ut·er

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

noun

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

Origin of distributor

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

OTHER WORDS FROM distributor

sub·dis·trib·u·tor, noun un·der·dis·trib·u·tor, noun

Example sentences from the Web for distributor

British Dictionary definitions for distributor

distributor

distributer

/ (dɪˈstrɪbjʊtə) /

noun

a person or thing that distributes
a wholesaler or middleman engaged in the distribution of a category of goods, esp to retailers in a specific area
the device in a petrol engine that distributes the high-tension voltage to the sparking plugs in the sequence of the firing order