Death of a Salesman

American  

noun

1. a play (1949) by Arthur Miller.

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Death of a Salesman Cultural  

1. (1949) A Pulitzer Prize –winning play by the American writer Arthur Miller. Willy Loman, a salesman who finds himself regarded as useless in his occupation because of his age, kills himself. A speech made by a friend of Willy's after his suicide is well known and ends with the lines: “Nobody dast blame this man. A salesman is got to dream, boy. It comes with the territory.”

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Example Sentences

Another adaptation, that of Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman," won six awards, more than any other work.

From Barron's • Jun. 8, 2026

The star of Normal People and Gladiator II will appear in two classic 20th Century plays - Death of a Salesman and A Whistle in the Dark.

From BBC • Apr. 29, 2025

As part of a new repertory run, Paul Mescal will make his National Theatre debut in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman and Tom Murphy's A Whistle in the Dark.

From BBC • Apr. 29, 2025

You show us the loss of the American dream in "Death of a Salesman."

From Salon • Dec. 10, 2022

He looked as if he was about to be turned away from a Death of a Salesman audition for looking too dead.

From Slate • Jul. 26, 2022