# broker

/ˈbɹoʊkɝ/ (US) · /bɹˈəʊkɐ/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/broker
Updated: 2026-06-20

## Senses

### 1. financial/trade agent

noun · CEFR B2

a person or company that buys and sells things for other people, often charging a fee.

For teachers: an agent who buys and sells goods, assets, or securities for others, typically in exchange for a commission.

- She called her insurance broker to find a cheaper policy for her car.
- The customs broker ensured that all international shipments complied with local regulations to avoid costly delays at the border.

### 2. mediator

noun · CEFR C1 · Formal

someone who helps two groups or countries reach an agreement.

For teachers: a person who functions as an intermediary or negotiator between parties to achieve a specific outcome.

- The diplomat acted as a broker between the two warring nations.
- He earned a reputation as a power broker in the city, frequently resolving disputes between major developers and the local council.

### 3. computing

noun · CEFR C1 · Technical

a piece of software that manages the exchange of data between different systems.

For teachers: an intermediate software component that manages communication or transactions between distributed systems or services.

- The message broker handles thousands of requests every second.
- The architecture relies on a central broker to route messages between the microservices, ensuring that data remains consistent across the platform.

### 4. to negotiate

verb · CEFR B2

to organize or arrange an agreement between different people or groups.

For teachers: to arrange or negotiate the details of a deal, treaty, or agreement. Transitive — takes a direct object.

- The government helped to broker a deal between the company and the workers.
- The prime minister attempted to broker a ceasefire, though both sides remained skeptical of the proposed terms.

## Examples

- The message broker sends data between the two apps.
- The insurance broker compared several different policies to find the best coverage for the client's specific needs.
- By implementing a centralized message broker, the engineering team decoupled the microservices, allowing each component to scale independently without requiring direct knowledge of the other services' locations.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.