# vendor

/ˈvɛndɝ/ (US) · /vˈɛndɐ/ (UK)

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

## Senses

### 1. a seller or supplier

noun · CEFR B2

a person or company that sells goods or services.

For teachers: a person or business entity that sells something, often used in a commercial or legal context to describe a supplier.

- The event organisers hired a local food vendor to provide lunch for the guests.
- The procurement department is currently evaluating several software vendors to find a solution that integrates with our existing database architecture.

### 2. street seller

noun · CEFR B2

someone who sells things from a small stall or cart, usually outside.

For teachers: a person who sells items, typically food or small wares, from a portable stand or cart in public spaces.

- We bought some roasted nuts from a street vendor near the park entrance.
- City officials are debating new regulations that would limit where mobile vendors can park their carts during the busy tourist season.

### 3. vending machine

noun · CEFR C1 · Technical

a machine that you put money into to get snacks or drinks.

For teachers: an automated machine that provides items such as snacks, beverages, or cigarettes to consumers after money or a credit card is inserted.

- The office has a coffee vendor in the breakroom that takes contactless payments.
- The facility manager requested a maintenance check on the snack vendor after several employees reported that the coin mechanism was jammed.

### 4. to bundle software dependencies

verb · CEFR C2 · Technical

to include all the extra code a program needs inside the program's own files.

For teachers: to include third-party library dependencies directly within a project's source tree rather than relying on an external package manager.

- The developers decided to vendor the library to make sure the app always works.
- By choosing to vendor their dependencies, the team ensured that the build process remained reproducible even if the upstream repositories became unavailable.

Usage: The verb is transitive and takes the dependency or library as its object.

## Examples

- The street vendor sells fresh fruit every morning.
- The company is looking for a new software vendor to manage its internal payroll system.
- While the local market is famous for its independent food vendors, the city's procurement office deals primarily with large-scale industrial vendors for its infrastructure needs.

---

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.