businesslike
Americanadjective
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conforming to, attending to, or characteristic of business.
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efficient, practical, or realistic.
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capable but unenthusiastic.
adjective
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efficient and methodical
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earnest or severe
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of businesslike
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Spaceflight has the opportunity to become routine and businesslike.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026
The senior Ukrainian source told AFP that the tone of rhetoric between the White House and Kyiv was now "very businesslike."
From Barron's • Oct. 16, 2025
In front of the world's cameras, the two exchanged warm words, and a businesslike handshake, which set the tone for a generally respectful relationship.
From BBC • Aug. 14, 2025
He might therefore follow the inclinations of certain of his key economic advisers like transition leader Lutnick, who favor a more pragmatic, businesslike relationship with China.
From Salon • Dec. 28, 2024
He told me about his will, his life insurance policy, all of those horrible businesslike things that feel so inappropriate to think about when someone has died.”
From "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" by Jonathan Safran Foer
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
