landman

American  

[land-muhn, -man] / ˈlænd mən, -ˌmæn /

noun

landmen plural

1. landsman.

2. leaseman.

3. a person who bargains with landowners for the mineral rights to their land, as on behalf of an oil company.

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Gender

See -man.

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• landmen
  plural

Etymology

Origin of landman

before 1000; Middle English; Old English landmann. See land, man

Example Sentences

His character, Tommy Norris, is the titular West Texas landman, an oil-company fixer juggling everything from exploding pump jacks and drug-cartel incursions, to tangled mineral-rights leases and constant family distractions.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 6, 2025

The voluble Pickens began his life in Oklahoma, the son of a landman who leased mineral rights from private landowners and sold them to oil companies.

From New York Times • Apr. 5, 2022

His father was a landman, someone who secures mineral-rights leases for oil and gas drilling.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 11, 2019

Hebert’s teammate, Kevin Koe, works full time as a surface landman for an oil and gas company, liaising with landowners and farmers.

From Washington Times • Feb. 25, 2018

The other was William Powell, an Irish landman, who was slightly wounded in the buttock.

From A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 10 Arranged in systematic order: Forming a complete history of the origin and progress of navigation, discovery, and commerce, by sea and land, from the earliest ages to the present time. by Kerr, Robert