salesman
Americannoun
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:
Carney dons his best furniture salesman hat to make the pitch of a lifetime, a deal that could save Robert’s life, or take Carney’s.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
A local military gear salesman created a neighborhood patch with the subway station’s logo, missile and the phrase, “Everything that is not flying toward us, is flying over us.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
The salesman also pitched BYD’s lithium-iron-phosphate battery as safer than some Western technologies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
Even if they don’t think the AI can do the job, they think that an AI salesman can absolutely convince those people to buy AI and fire all their workers.
From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2026
As Mr. Trepid drove away, the salesman called to someone in the back room.
From "Ruby Holler" by Sharon Creech
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
Several stars took on side gigs as car salesmen, of sorts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 6, 2026
By contrast, when Franglen composed the music for the Wind Traders - a nomadic clan of salesmen, who travel by airship - he could let his imagination run wild.
From BBC ● Dec. 12, 2025
Cedric, who sells telephone parts, was one of the few salesmen to have opened their store.
From Barron's ● Nov. 3, 2025
Dad’s first rescue job was a boatload of software salesmen from Orlando who were stranded all the way out at Ninemile Bank.
From "Flush" by Carl Hiaasen
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
