How to Use pawnbroker in a Sentence

pawnbroker

noun
  • He was desperate for money so he hocked his watch to a pawnbroker.
  • Never before has a town greeted me with a broke pawnbroker.
    — Literary Hub, 26 Nov. 2025
  • And, in some circles, waistcoats were associated with the likes of pawnbrokers or card sharks.
    — Andrew Beaton, WSJ, 9 July 2018
  • William Hill and its rivals, along with charity shops and pawnbrokers, were among the businesses that took up the slack.
    — Washington Post, 18 Sep. 2019
  • The first hardware man, dealer in fancy articles, clerk in a department store, or pawnbroker would have sold me a revolver and asked no questions.
    — Ian Buruma, Harper’s Magazine , 18 Jan. 2022
  • Fulford was wanted on felony warrants for failure to appear on a drug case, firearms charges and providing false information to a pawnbroker.
    — The Reporter Herald, The Denver Post, 31 Mar. 2017
  • Some of the half-dozen or so pawnbrokers in Harford County do many of the things that would be required under the new legislation.
    — Erika Butler, The Aegis, 3 May 2017
  • The pawnbroker and three postal employees identified Newby by photo.
    — William Lee, chicagotribune.com, 28 July 2019
  • In killing the old miserly pawnbroker for money, Raskolnikov seeks to purchase his freedom from an existence of degradation.
    — Los Angeles Times, 14 Jan. 2021
  • Martin's recent criminal past includes pleading guilty to burglary, dealing in stealing property, receiving money from a pawnbroker under false pretenses.
    — David J. Neal, miamiherald, 11 June 2018
  • Image Among the Caribbean grocery stalls selling mango and plantain, pawnbroker shops and acrylic nail salons of Peckham, beats the heart of London’s most dynamic art scene.
    — New York Times, 8 Feb. 2018
  • In practice, according to the California attorney general’s office, this means any loan from a bank, savings and loan, credit union, finance corporation or even a pawnbroker is exempt from the usury law.
    — Los Angeles Times, 30 July 2021
  • The woman, Elizabeth Daniels, was arrested and charged with several crimes, including theft from an at-risk person and providing a false statement to a pawnbroker, according to police records.
    — Clare Ansberry, WSJ, 28 Dec. 2021
  • The legislation generated controversy, as several pawnbrokers in the county testified at a public hearing that they already are required to keep meticulous transaction records.
    — David Anderson, The Aegis, 17 May 2017

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pawnbroker.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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