Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

landman

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

noun

plural

landmen
  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.


Gender

See -man.

Etymology

Origin of landman

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

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.

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

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

From Seattle Times • Sep. 11, 2019

John Doose, a landman for Ursa, told the oil and gas commission in its meeting in Rifle in September that he works hard to listen to residents.

From Washington Times • Oct. 6, 2018

His father was a landman, buying leases from farmers and selling them to oil companies, and his mother oversaw gasoline rationing for several counties during World War II.

From New York Times • Jan. 20, 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