Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To travel about selling (wares).
  • intransitive verb To engage in the illicit sale of (narcotics).
  • intransitive verb Informal To seek to disseminate; give out.
  • intransitive verb To travel about selling wares.
  • intransitive verb To occupy oneself with trifles.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To travel about retailing small wares; go from place to place or from house to house selling small commodities; hawk.
  • To be engaged in a small business; occupy one's self with trifles; trifle.
  • To sell or retail in small quantities, usually by transporting the goods offered about the country, or from house to house; hence, to dispense or deal out in small quantities.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • intransitive verb To travel about with wares for sale; to go from place to place, or from house to house, for the purpose of retailing goods.
  • intransitive verb To do a small business; to be busy about trifles; to piddle.
  • transitive verb To sell from place to place; to retail by carrying around from customer to customer; to hawk; hence, to retail in very small quantities.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb To sell things, especially door to door.
  • verb To sell illegal narcotics.
  • verb derogatory, figuratively To spread or cause to spread.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb sell or offer for sale from place to place

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Back-formation from peddler. V., intr., sense 2, probably influenced by piddle.]

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Examples

Comments

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  • Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from God. 2 Corinthians 2:17.

    March 26, 2011