businessperson

American

[biz-nis-pur-suhn] / ˈbɪz nɪsˌpɜr sən /

noun

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

businessperson British

/ ˈbɪznɪsˌpɜrsən /

noun

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

"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

Gender

Is it businessman, businesswoman, or businessperson? See -person.

Etymology

Origin of businessperson

An Americanism dating back to 1970–75; business(man) + -person

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.

“My bet is that an opportunistic businessperson saw a trend, bought tons of capybara products from Chinese suppliers for very cheap and is selling them for a big profit.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 16, 2026

"The president is a successful businessperson and dealmaker. We are his largest client in so many industries," he remarked.

From BBC • Mar. 16, 2025

I didn’t want to have to become a businessperson, but that is what — without a sugar daddy or a trust fund, and outside the confines of academia — being an artist does to you.

From Salon • Nov. 12, 2024

“This should send a shiver down the spine of every Western businessperson who is in China,” he told DealBook.

From New York Times • Jan. 26, 2024

Her father, Tadao Yamada, was a businessperson, and her mother, Mabel Fujisake Yamada, was a homemaker.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 11, 2024

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023