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.

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businessman British  

/ ˈbɪznɪsˌmæn, -mən /

noun

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

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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

The BBC contacted the businessman who rented the property, who says he had sublet it to a builder.

From BBC • Jun. 24, 2026

“I’m a husband, a dad and businessman, and it ends up being a lot of hats but very little support, at times,” Jones said.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 19, 2026

A businessman with ties to Chinese military contractors was among the overseas investors who acquired stakes in SpaceX while it was still a private company.

From Salon • Jun. 19, 2026

The case echoes the circumstances surrounding a 1974 case of a robbery at eccentric aerospace businessman Howard Hughes’ office, which ended up revealing a CIA effort to recover a Soviet nuclear-armed submarine.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 16, 2026

The businessman didn’t know what to make of it.

From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman