People in Shops & Trades — A2 Essential Words

owner /ˈəʊnər/ noun A2 Jobs

Meaning: The person who owns something — a shop, a house, a company, or a pet.

Example: The shop owner greeted us.

Another example: The dog ran to its owner.

Collocations: the owner of · shop owner · the owner

Synonyms: proprietor, holder, boss

Antonyms: customer, guest

Word family: owners (n pl) · own (v)

⚠ Common mistake: Dogs and businesses recognize theirs instantly. 'Owner-operator' trucks carry the word down every highway in America.

🗣 In spoken American English: Its meetings (homeowners' associations) govern suburb peace treaties.

Register: Neutral — jobs essential.

seller /ˈselər/ noun A2 Jobs

Meaning: A person or company that sells something; in markets and online shops, the other side of the buyer.

Example: The seller shipped the phone quickly.

Another example: Street sellers offer fruit.

Collocations: the seller · seller shipped · a seller of

Synonyms: vendor, merchant, dealer

Antonyms: buyer

Word family: sellers (n pl) · sell (v) · bestseller (n — different compound)

⚠ Common mistake: Online marketplaces rate them with stars — reputation in numbers. Its pair BUYER completes every transaction's two-step.

🗣 In spoken American English: 'Seller's market' means sellers hold the power (housing, usually).

Register: Neutral — jobs essential.

shopper /ˈʃɒpər/ noun A2 Jobs

Meaning: A person who is shopping in a store or online.

Example: Shoppers filled the mall on Saturday.

Another example: Online shoppers compare prices.

Collocations: shoppers · a shopper · holiday shoppers

Synonyms: customer, browser, buyer

Word family: shoppers (n pl) · shop (v) · shopping (n)

⚠ Common mistake: Black Friday headlines count them like weather. 'Personal shopper' is its luxury job branch — buying as a profession.

🗣 In spoken American English: Its Christmas peak starts earlier every year by retail decree.

Register: Neutral — jobs essential.

buyer /ˈbaɪər/ noun A2 Jobs

Meaning: A person who buys something, especially something expensive like a house or car; also the professional who chooses goods for a store to sell.

Example: The buyer offered a fair price.

Another example: She works as a buyer for a fashion store.

Collocations: the buyer · a buyer for · first-time buyer

Synonyms: purchaser, customer, client

Antonyms: seller

Word family: buyers (n pl) · buy (v)

⚠ Common mistake: Houses make it a life title ('first-time buyer'). In fashion, buyers choose next season's racks — shopping as a career, the job every mall teen dreams of.

🗣 In spoken American English: 'Buyer's remorse' is its morning-after feeling for big purchases.

Register: Neutral — jobs essential.

worker /ˈwɜːrkər/ noun A2 Jobs

Meaning: A person who works, especially in a job done with the hands or in a factory or building trade; a member of a company or organization.

Example: Factory workers start at six.

Another example: She's a hard worker.

Collocations: workers · a worker · hard worker

Synonyms: employee, laborer, staff member

Antonyms: boss, employer

Word family: workers (n pl) · work (v/n) · workforce (n)

⚠ Common mistake: Bees and ants have worker castes — nature's org charts matched ours. 'Hard worker' is the compliment every reference letter leads with.

🗣 In spoken American English: Its compounds march everywhere: co-worker, social worker, case worker.

Register: Neutral — jobs essential.

clerk /klɜːrk/ noun A2 Jobs

Meaning: A person who works in an office doing records and paperwork, or in a store helping customers and taking payments (in the US).

Example: The clerk at the counter helped me.

Another example: A bank clerk checked the form.

Collocations: the clerk · store clerk · clerk at the desk

Synonyms: assistant, cashier (payments), officer

Word family: clerks (n pl) · clerk (v) · clerical (adj)

⚠ Common mistake: Say KLURK in the US (KLARK in the UK — one vowel, two nations). Court clerks and hotel desk clerks run half the world's paperwork quietly.

🗣 In spoken American English: Its adjective (clerical work) means the paper kind of office work.

Register: Neutral — jobs essential.

tailor /ˈteɪlər/ noun A2 Jobs

Meaning: A person whose job is making and repairing clothes, especially men's suits, measuring and sewing by hand.

Example: The tailor measured him for a suit.

Another example: A good tailor can fix any jacket.

Collocations: the tailor · tailor shop · tailor made

Synonyms: seamster/seamstress, clothier, dressmaker

Word family: tailors (n pl) · tailor (v) · tailored (adj)

⚠ Common mistake: 'Tailor-made' escaped into everything: tailor-made solutions, jobs, and holidays mean exactly fitted. Savile Row in London is its hall of fame.

🗣 In spoken American English: Its verb fits advice as precisely as jackets.

Register: Neutral — jobs staple.

grocer /ˈɡrəʊsər/ noun A2 Jobs

Meaning: A person who sells food and small household goods, or the shop itself (a grocer's); bigger stores employ its supermarket descendants.

Example: The grocer knows every family on the street.

Another example: Buy rice at the grocer's.

Collocations: the grocer · grocer's shop · the grocer

Synonyms: food seller, shopkeeper, market man

Word family: grocers (n pl) · grocery (n — the goods/shop)

⚠ Common mistake: Its modern house is the GROCERY STORE — the word shrank from the person to the place in everyday American speech ('going to the grocery').

🗣 In spoken American English: Margaret Thatcher's father was one — a famous political biography detail.

Register: Neutral — jobs staple.

vendor /ˈvendər/ noun A2 Jobs

Meaning: A person who sells things, especially in a street, market, or at an event; also a company that sells products or services to businesses.

Example: A hot-dog vendor stood by the gate.

Another example: The city chose a new software vendor.

Collocations: a street vendor · vendor at · the vendor

Synonyms: seller, trader, stall holder

Word family: vendors (n pl) · vend (v) · vending (n)

⚠ Common mistake: Hot dogs and software share it — booths at stadiums and suppliers at boardrooms. VENDING machines are its tireless metal branch.

🗣 In spoken American English: Its street form is the world's oldest retail.

Register: Neutral — jobs essential.

merchant /ˈmɜːrtʃənt/ noun A2 Jobs

Meaning: A person or company that buys and sells goods in large amounts, especially trading with other countries; in card payments, a business that accepts cards.

Example: Venice grew rich on merchants.

Another example: The merchant ships goods worldwide.

Collocations: a merchant · merchant ships · merchants of

Synonyms: trader, dealer, businessman

Word family: merchants (n pl) · merchandise (n) · merchant (adj)

⚠ Common mistake: Shakespeare titled a play for one (The Merchant of Venice). Modern checkouts ask your card company about 'the merchant' — the word never retired.

🗣 In spoken American English: Its navy (the merchant marine) sails trade in uniform.

Register: Formal — jobs staple.