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🛒 A street seller 💊 A drug seller
peddler

peddler

4 8.1
A person who secretly sells illegal drugs
  • noun
  • /ˈpɛdlər/
  • NSFW
translation icon : traficante
  • After months of investigation, they caught the peddler who was distributing methamphetamine across the city.
  • dope peddler
  • smut peddler
  • drug peddler

Examples

  • Interpol reports a heroin peddler on the train.

    The Cassandra Crossing (1976)

  • The police arrested a local peddler who was selling illegal drugs behind the old warehouse.

  • He is a notorious drug peddler in the community.

    Everybody Loves Jenifa (2024)

  • "It's the drug peddlers," he explained as they headed toward the showers.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • There are many teenagers who find themselves in the company of drug peddlers.

    Blog text (33)

  • From what we know, Dauta had been dealing heroin to supplement his income as a peddler.

    Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans (2009)

  • Ty continued, "I see all those teenage drug peddlers walking around with that X on their caps."

    Fiction book (1993)

  • It's been eight days since I gave you the addresses of 11 blind tigers, two cocaine peddlers, and 16 brothels.

    Elmer Gantry (1960)

  • This vicious combination of big business and government has kept our sisters prostitute and our brothers dope peddlers.

    Coffy (1973)

  • Many neighborhoods have problems with peddlers who secretly sell narcotics to underage teens.

Synonyms

dealer
vspeddler
  • NSFW
384 6.5

A person who buys and sells illegal goods like drugs and stolen items

is narrower, referring specifically to illegal drug selling rather than other goods
drug dealer
vspeddler
  • NSFW
246 4.8

A person who sells illegal drugs

focuses on the same small-scale secret selling rather than large networks
pusher
vspeddler
  • NSFW
21 8.4

A person who sells illegal drugs to other people

is the general term for any illegal seller, not only active distributors
drug trafficker
vspeddler
  • NSFW
16 6.2

A person who illegally buys and sells large amounts of drugs

is focused on small, unlicensed street-level selling rather than large shipments
narco
vspeddler
  • NSFW
15 8.3

A person who sells or moves illegal drugs

describes local or secret sellers rather than organized or large-scale actors
drug peddler
vspeddler
  • NSFW
1 7.4

A person who sells illegal drugs, often on the street

has identical meaning but is presented as the main entry form
junkman
vspeddler
  • NSFW
1 9.9

A person who sells illegal drugs, especially heroin

is broader, applying to sellers of any illegal drug rather than one type
pill pusher
vspeddler
  • Offensive
9.7

A person who illegally sells drugs to others

covers drug selling broadly, not only pill promotion or unethical sales
street pharmacist
vspeddler
  • NSFW
9.8

A person who sells illegal drugs on the street

is the neutral description for illegal sellers without informal tone
superfly
vspeddler
  • NSFW
9.9

A person who sells illegal drugs and becomes well known for it

describes ordinary secret sellers rather than influential or high-status figures

Compounds

drug peddler
  • NSFW
1 7.4

A person who sells illegal drugs, often on the street

influence peddler
1 8.8

A person who uses their contacts to get money or favors for others, often in dishonest ways

How Powerful

drug lord
  • NSFW
33 4.9
drug trafficker
  • NSFW
16 6.2
dealer
  • NSFW
384 6.5
peddler
  • NSFW
4 8.1

Surface Forms

peddler singular
peddlers plural

Morphology

peddler = peddle (transparent) = peddle + er

Morphologically identical to the non-illicit sense (verb + -er); the illegal connotation is pragmatic, not a morphological change.

Etymology

Peddler is also used for someone who sells illegal drugs without permission, and this sense grew from the same idea as peddle—selling small items quietly on the street. So, a peddler can mean a secret or illegal seller.