Synonyms

businessman

American

[biz-nis-man] / ˈbɪz nɪsˌmæn /

noun

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

businessman British

/ ˈbɪznɪsˌmæn, -mən /

noun

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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

businessmen

plural

Etymology

Origin of businessman

First recorded in 1705–15; business + man

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.

Businessman and billionaire Mark Cuban encourages young workers to pay attention to where they put their time and effort.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 22, 2026

Businessman James Hagan, founder of Hagan Homes, is one of the donors.

From BBC • Jan. 10, 2026

Businessman Phypers, 53, filed to divorce Richards, 54, in July after six years of marriage.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 7, 2025

Businessman Gyura Dishon was equally jubilant that the hostages were coming home.

From Barron's • Oct. 9, 2025

What could the Chamber of Commerce Businessman of 1967 do?

From "The Wednesday Wars" by Gary D. Schmidt

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023