peddle
/ˈpɛd(ə)l
/verb [with object]
1Try to sell (something, especially small goods) by going from place to place: he peddled printing materials around the country...
- I am still facing totally vindictive charges relating to that little incident with that chap who invaded my doorstep peddling household goods.
- Over the past 10 years or so, I have noted the return of Syrian and Lebanese immigrants who peddle goods up and down the country - on foot.
- The smell of strange and exotic spices led us to the huge indoor food market with rows and rows of locals peddling everything from fresh fruit and vegetables to nuts, spices and flowers.
Synonyms
sell, sell from door to door, hawk, tout, vend, offer for sale;
carry, stock, offer, market, merchandise, trade, trade in, deal in, traffic in
informal push
British informal flog
1.1Sell (an illegal drug or stolen item): (as noun peddling) youths involved in drug peddling...
- A teenage drug dealer who peddled heroin and crack cocaine on the streets of Swindon is facing a lengthy jail term.
- A suspect in a major investigation into a drugs gang that had a nationwide network peddling heroin is believed to be back in Britain.
- A former town centre security guard who rented a car for drug dealers to use to peddle heroin across Swindon has been jailed for a year.
1.2Promote (an idea or view) persistently or widely: the giant con that has been peddled in the Conservative press...
- And this idea has been peddled by the intellectual elite in Britain for many years, more assiduously than anywhere else, to the extent that it is now taken for granted.
- I believe it is unreasonable for people who have obviously never been to the city to peddle their stereotypical views as facts.
- We live in a time when all sorts of ideas and newfangled methods of writing instruction are being peddled by writers of educational material.
Synonyms
advocate, suggest, urge, recommend, champion;
preach, present, put forward, advance, offer, introduce, spread, proclaim, propound, promote
Usage
On the confusion of peddle and pedal, see pedal1 (usage).
Origin
Early 16th century: back-formation from pedlar.