tradesman

American  

[traydz-muhn] / ˈtreɪdz mən /

noun

• tradesmen
  plural

1. a person engaged in trade.

2. a worker skilled in a particular craft; artisan; craftsman.

3. Chiefly British. a shopkeeper.

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tradesman British  

/ ˈtreɪdzmən /

noun

1. a man engaged in trade, esp a retail dealer

2. a skilled worker

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Gender

See -man.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• tradeswoman
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• tradesmen
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of tradesman

First recorded in 1590–1600; trade + 's ¹ + -man

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tradesman tradesmen

For enterprising men, money from war, industry or trade was a passport through social frontiers—the tradesman, merchant or lucky naval captain could become a landed gentleman, as happens in Austen’s novels.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 21, 2025

The first name on the concealed letter was that of John Westwood, a 28-year-old millwright - a tradesman who works with machinery - from Edinburgh.

From BBC ● Nov. 30, 2024

The first—the shark—comes from Steven Spielberg’s 1975 blockbuster Jaws, in which a sheriff, a scientist, and a tradesman roll up their sleeves and put themselves in harm’s way to defeat a ferocious great white.

From Slate ● Oct. 29, 2024

But he eventually developed a debilitating medical condition due to the injury, according to court documents, leading the skilled tradesman to quit his job.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 23, 2024

Maddie, you will recall, is the granddaughter of an immigrant tradesman.

From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein

Anna Moynihan set up TaskHer, a platform connecting female tradies with customers who need jobs done, after feeling frustrated when tradesmen she had booked for renovation work would address her husband rather than her.

From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026

On a recent evening in a local pub, two builders asked other patrons for recommendations for tradesmen and were told they had to wait several weeks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 14, 2026

“This was an industry of gatekeepers,” he said, adding that master tradesmen ultimately viewed their apprentices — working in the same 10- to 15-mile radius as them — as competition.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 16, 2025

Here’s how the day usually goes: At 3 p.m. sharp, about 3,500 members of Zurich’s ancient guilds — associations of artisans or tradesmen that date to the Middle Ages — embark on a parade.

From New York Times ● Apr. 16, 2024

These were the gates that slaves had used in former days as they went about their masters’ business, where smallfolk and tradesmen came and went and made their deliveries.

From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin

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