hawker

IPA/ˈhɔːkə(r)/
KK[hˈɔkɚ]IPA/ˈhɔːkər/

hawker — noun

  • hawkersingular
  • hawkersplural

1. A person who sells food, drinks, or goods by walking around busy public areas su

1.nounB1
Definition

A person who sells food, drinks, or goods by walking around busy public areas such as streets, markets, or festivals, typically carrying their items or using a small cart rather than a permanent shop.

Example

Tourists love the grilled squid that a local hawker sells from a small cart.

collocation: night market hawker

Mei-Lin bought a bag of warm peanuts from a hawker near the baseball stadium.

Common collocations
  • street hawker
  • food hawker
  • night market hawker
  • hawker centre
  • fruit hawker
Synonyms
  • vendor

    a general term for anyone who sells something; broader than hawker and used for licensed sellers too

  • peddler

    someone who travels around selling goods; slightly old-fashioned and can have a negative tone

  • stallholder

    a person who runs a stall at a market; implies a fixed spot rather than walking around

Antonyms
  • shopkeeper

    a person who runs a permanent retail store, rather than selling on the street

Usage Note

In Singapore, Malaysia, and Hong Kong, the word 'hawker' commonly refers to food vendors who operate at open-air food courts known as 'hawker centres', which are a major part of local food culture.

Common Mistakes

I bought this from a hawker shop.
I bought this from a hawker's stall.
A hawker typically uses a temporary stall or cart, not a permanent shop.

2. A person who hunts with a trained hawk or falcon as a sport, or who keeps, breed

2.nounC1
Definition

A person who hunts with a trained hawk or falcon as a sport, or who keeps, breeds, and cares for these birds of prey for the purpose of falconry.

Example

Kenji spent two years as a hawker's apprentice, learning to train a young falcon.

apprenticeship pattern: hawker's apprentice + train

At the falconry festival, a veteran hawker showed how her hawk catches prey in flight.

Common collocations
  • master hawker
  • licensed hawker
  • traditional hawker
  • falconry hawker
Synonyms
  • falconer

    the more common term; 'falconer' can refer to someone who keeps any bird of prey, while 'hawker' specifically implies hawks

  • austringer

    a specialist who keeps and trains hawks specifically; a very rare and technical term

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

While 'hawker', 'vendor', 'peddler', and 'stallholder' all describe people who sell goods, they differ in mobility and permanence. A 'hawker' carries goods or uses a cart and moves around public spaces — the emphasis is on informal selling without a fixed address. A 'vendor' is the most general term and can describe anyone from a street seller to a large corporation selling at a trade fair. 'Peddler' is similar to hawker but sounds more old-fashioned and sometimes carries a negative connotation of selling cheap or low-quality goods. 'Stallholder' implies a fixed stall at a market, unlike a roving hawker. For example: 'The hawker walked through the train carriage selling drinks' (moving), but 'the stallholder stayed at her vegetable stall all morning' (fixed).

vendor ↗peddler ↗stallholder ↗hawker ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • hawker centre
  • hawker stall
  • hawker market

Phrases

  • work as a hawker
  • buy from a hawker

Etymology

Middle Low GermanDutchEnglishOld English

The word 'hawker' has two distinct origins. The street-vendor sense comes from the verb 'hawk', meaning 'to peddle goods', which traces back to Middle Low German 'höken' ('to peddle') and is related to Dutch 'heuker' ('huckster'). The falconry sense comes from 'hawk', the bird of prey, from Old English 'hafoc', with the agent suffix '-er' added to mean 'one who works with hawks'. Though the two senses are spelled the same, they are historically unrelated words that happen to share a modern form.