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Synonyms

bagman

American  
[bag-man, bag-muhn] / ˈbægˌmæn, ˈbæg mən /

noun

  • bagmen
    plural
  1. dishonest official; a person who collects, carries, or distributes illegal payoff money.

  2. British. a traveling salesman; drummer.

  3. Australian. a tramp; swagman.


bagman British  
/ ˈbæɡmən /

noun

  1. informal a travelling salesman

  2. slang a person who collects or distributes money for racketeers

  3. informal a person who solicits money or subscriptions for a political party

  4. history a tramp or swagman, esp one on horseback

  5. Also called: bagswinger. slang someone who takes money for a bookmaker

"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

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms


Etymology

Origin of bagman

1525–35, for an earlier literally sense; bag + 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.

See Examples For:

His experience demonstrates that far from ridding sports of backroom deals and bagman boosters, the deluge of legal NIL money incentivizes and gives cover to the illicit market.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 5, 2025

And never has there been a more appropriate bagman to assist the biggest win of a career to date.

From BBC ● Jun. 3, 2024

Their first mission, which is to track a bagman with a suitcase in the Madrid airport is a nifty sequence, which gets the film off to a good start.

From Salon ● Mar. 3, 2023

Braun singled out Chiang, an admitted bagman, as especially untrustworthy.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 21, 2023

The wee bagman," added the landlord, "has never come this way since, and I fancy now never will.

From Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland Volume 13 by Various

Huizar’s lawyers called Esparza and Kim, the alleged bagmen in the transaction, “admitted liars” who are “attempting to obtain leniency for their own crimes by cooperating with the government.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2021

But as demonstrated, the interest in college basketball is dissolving, and you can’t convince me that minor league bagmen are the reasons.

From Washington Post ● Nov. 8, 2018

Going into the pro caddie profession: It was a rough year for player-caddie breakups – I’m still not over the Phil-Bones split – but a recent trend doesn’t seem to bode well for professional bagmen.

From Golf Digest ● Dec. 12, 2017

Two-time champion Ben Crenshaw's long-time Masters caddie Carl Jackson is one of the remaining old school Augusta bagmen, who began working at the course aged 14 in 1961.

From BBC ● Apr. 9, 2014

The roadsters of his, as of these days, were no longer, however, of the same high-toned class as that of the "bagmen" in times gone by.

From Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine — Volume 54, No. 335, September 1843 by Various

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