salesman
Americannoun
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salesmen
plural
noun
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Gender-neutral form: salesperson. Also called: saleswoman, salesgirl, saleslady. a person who sells merchandise or services either in a shop or by canvassing in a designated area
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short for travelling salesman
Usage
What does salesman mean? A salesman is a man whose job is to sell products or services. The plural of salesman is salesmen. The equivalent term for a woman is saleswoman. Both terms are still commonly used, but salesperson and sales rep (or sales representative) are often used in their place. A salesman is often said to “work in sales”—in which sales refers to the type of occupation or the division or department within a company. A salesman can sell directly to customers or to other businesses or organizations. Sometimes, salesmen sell things in person, such as at a retail store or dealership. They also commonly sell things over the phone or by communicating with people online. In the past, it was common for some salesmen to travel door-to-door to make sales to people at home, leading to the term door-to-door salesman. A salesman who has to travel as part of his job can be called a traveling salesman. The word salesman is sometimes used in a somewhat figurative way to refer to someone who’s skilled at persuading people, especially in a business or professional setting, as if they are selling them a product. This skill or quality can be called salesmanship. Example: The salesman told me that this was the best deal he could give me.
Gender
See -man.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of salesman
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.
See Examples For:
Mr. Anderson quotes one NFL head coach saying he looked “more like a damn aluminum siding salesman than a professional quarterback.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
Shahsavani, who works as a car salesman and delivery driver, was allegedly acting on instructions from Iranian intelligence.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
Kimi Chi, a salesman from the central city of Taichung, had travelled through the night to be able to photograph the aircraft landing in Taitung.
From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026
This makes him an ideal mark for a certain kind of salesman.
From Salon ● Aug. 27, 2026
The salesman dumped the stones back into the pouch.
From "Ruby Holler" by Sharon Creech
Like “Born in the U.S.A.” and “Rockin’ in the Free World,” “Pink Houses” was practically destined to be misinterpreted by elected salesmen peddling easy fantasies.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
It’s often surprising how few people — including not only investors but also Wall Street salesmen — actually seem to understand stock prices.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 5, 2026
Back in 1879, those clerks and salesmen and their wives who frequented bucket shops understood they were operating outside the bounds of Wall Street.
From Barron's ● Apr. 7, 2026
Little wonder, then, that many patients preferred the services of women healers, or would take a risk on “quacks”—traveling salesmen selling ointments from town to town—rather than risk a visit to a hospital.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 6, 2026
“Done what you’ve looked,” angrily shouted one of the salesmen.
From "The Phantom Tollbooth" by Norton Juster
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
