businessman

American  

[biz-nis-man] / ˈbɪz nɪsˌmæn /

noun

• businessmen
  plural

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

---

businessman British  

/ 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

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• businessmen
  plural

Etymology

Origin of businessman

First recorded in 1705–15; business + man

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

businessman businessmen

Rivera separately faces a federal case in Washington involving allegations that he received more than $5.5 million to lobby on behalf of a Venezuelan businessman targeted by US sanctions.

From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026

Earlier, government spokesman Nick Mangwana confirmed the crash, saying the helicopter was carrying "a prominent businessman, three other passengers and two pilots".

From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026

Castillo, a 40-year-old Californian businessman, would eventually end up in a notorious Myanmar prison—under a military regime that the U.S. doesn’t recognize—because of a dispute with the local chapter of the American Chamber of Commerce.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026

An incident involving businessman and television personality Kevin O’Leary is the classic cautionary tale taught in journalism schools.

From Salon ● Sep. 29, 2026

In his black socks, striped pajamas, and without his usual glasses, he looks like a weary businessman, fed up with the account managers in the tristate region.

From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti

In Malta, home to 70,000 offshore companies and the headquarters of some of the world’s largest gambling groups, she wielded her pen against ministers and businessmen.

From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026

Regarding these allegations, Betancourt's lawyer suggested he was being targeted because of his associations with the other young, brash Venezuelan businessmen.

From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026

Joshua Kushner and Bob Iger, successful businessmen by any measure, paid $12.5 billion for the Lakers, easily the highest price ever for a sports franchise.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2026

That’s because the group bought the team in 2010 for an estimated $480 million from American businessmen Tom Hicks and George Gillett.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026

Black businessmen walked side by side with black orthodox Jews.

From "Bad Boy" by Walter Dean Myers