To vend means to sell something, especially in a direct, often small-scale way. When someone vends newspapers on a street corner, they're selling them to people walking by. A machine that vends snacks or drinks is called a vending machine because it sells items automatically when you insert money.

The word often appears in formal or legal contexts. A city might require a permit to vend food from a cart. A person who vends items is called a vendor. Street vendors vend everything from hot dogs to handmade jewelry, usually setting up temporary stands or carts rather than operating from permanent stores.

Vending is one of the oldest forms of commerce. For thousands of years, vendors have traveled from place to place, vending their goods at markets and fairs. Today you might see vendors vending crafts at a farmer's market or selling programs at a baseball game.