businessman

[biz-nis-man]

noun

plural

businessmen 

1. a man regularly employed in business, especially a white-collar worker, executive, or owner.

businessman

/ ˈbɪznɪsˌmæn, -mən /

noun

1. a person, esp a man, engaged in commercial or industrial business, esp as an owner or executive

Usage

There is a gender-neutral form, businessperson , but it does not appear to be very widely used. The plural business people is quite widely used, and if you wish to avoid being gender-specific, you could try recasting your sentence to use the plural

Word History and Origins

Origin of businessman¹

First recorded in 1705–15; business + man

Example Sentences

"I think we've reached a stage now where we can acknowledge that there is a problem nationally in the country with regards to knife crime, particularly amongst the youth," says the businessman.

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Wealthy Democratic businessman Stephen J. Cloobeck and Republican Riverside Sheriff Chad Bianco declined an invitation to participate in the forum, citing prior commitments.

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I recently received a journalism award that I cannot publicize—because it recognizes a profile piece I wrote about a queer businessman, and that article appeared in the pages of a federally-funded magazine.

Read more on Salon

A lot of people see the president less as a frothing-at-the-mouth fanatic and more like a glib businessman, the guy they remember with some fondness from “The Apprentice.”

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Several years ago Gibson was playing golf with an Australian businessman who had no idea that Gibson was once a baseball and football star.

Read more on Los Angeles Times