bro·ker

[broh-ker]
noun
1.
an agent who buys or sells for a principal on a commission basis without having title to the property.
2.
a person who functions as an intermediary between two or more parties in negotiating agreements, bargains, or the like.
verb (used with object)
4.
to act as a broker for: to broker the sale of a house.
verb (used without object)
5.
to act as a broker.

Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English broco(u)r < Anglo-French broco(u)r, abrocour middleman, wine merchant; compare Old Provençal abrocador, perhaps based on Spanish alboroque gift or drink concluding a transaction (< Arabic al-burūk the gift, gratuity), with -ador < Latin -ātōr- -ator

bro·ker·ship, noun
sub·bro·ker, noun
00:10
Broker is one of our favorite verbs.
So is skedaddle. Does it mean:
to run away hurriedly; flee.
to chew (food) slowly and thoroughly.
Dictionary.com Unabridged

broke

[brohk]
verb
1.
a simple past tense of break.
2.
Nonstandard. a past participle of break.
3.
Archaic. a past participle of break.
adjective
4.
without money; penniless.
noun
6.
Papermaking. paper unfit for sale; paper that is to be repulped.
7.
brokes, wool of poor quality taken from the neck and belly of sheep.
8.
go broke,
a.
to become destitute of money or possessions.
b.
to go bankrupt: In that business people are forever going broke.
9.
go for broke, to exert oneself or employ one's resources to the utmost.

Origin:
1655–65 (adj.); 1875–80 (noun)


4, 5. insolvent, destitute, impoverished.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To broker
Collins
World English Dictionary
broke (brəʊk) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
vb
1.  the past tense of break
 
adj
2.  informal having no money; bankrupt
3.  slang go for broke to risk everything in a gambling or other venture

broker (ˈbrəʊkə) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
1.  an agent who, acting on behalf of a principal, buys or sells goods, securities, etc, in return for a commission: insurance broker
2.  (formerly) short for stockbroker
3.  a dealer in second-hand goods
 
vb
4.  to act as a broker (in)
 
[C14: from Anglo-French brocour broacher (of casks, hence, one who sells, agent), from Old Northern French broquier to tap a cask, from broque tap of a cask; see broach1]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

broke
past tense and obsolete pp. of break (variant of broken); extension to "insolvent" is first recorded 1716 (broken, in this sense, is attested from 1590s). By coincidence, O.E. cognate broc meant, in addition to "that which breaks," "affliction, misery;" but that sense died out long before the current
one began.

broker
late 14c., from Anglo-Norm. brocour "small trader," from Anglo-Fr. abrokur "retailer of wine, tapster;" perhaps from Port. alborcar "barter," but more likely from O.Fr. brocheor, from brochier "to broach, tap, pierce (a keg)," from broche "pointed tool" (see broach (n.)),
giving original sense of "wine dealer," hence "retailer, middleman, agent." In M.E., used contemptuously of peddlers and pimps. As a verb, implied by 1630s in brokering. Related: Brokered.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary

broker definition


A financial agent or intermediary; a middleman.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
FOLDOC
Computing Dictionary

broker definition


object request broker

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © Denis Howe 2010 http://foldoc.org
Cite This Source
Example sentences
It can act as a broker between the rich world and the emerging world.
Before opening for business, a broker-dealer has to comply with a number of
  requirements.
We could talk to friends and families with a telephone and get stock prices by
  calling a broker before e-mail was invented.
If your mortgage broker isn't in the ballpark, then you should get a new one.
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature
FAVORITES
RECENT