salesperson
Americannoun
Usage
What does salesperson mean? A salesperson is a person whose job is to sell products or services. Another term for salesperson is sales rep (or sales representative). The terms salesman and saleswoman are still commonly used, but salesperson and sales rep are often used in their place. The plural of salesperson can be salespeople or salespersons. A salesperson is often said to “work in sales”—in which sales refers to the type of occupation or the division or department within the company. A salesperson can sell directly to customers or to other businesses or organizations. Sometimes, salespersons sell things in person, such as at a retail store or dealership. They also commonly sell things over the phone or by communicating with people online. In the past, it was common for some salespersons to travel door-to-door to make sales to people at home. A salesperson who has to travel as part of their job can be called a traveling salesperson. The word salesperson is sometimes used in a somewhat figurative way to refer to someone who’s skilled at persuading people, especially in a business or professional setting, as if they are selling them a product. Example: The salesperson told me that this was the best deal he could give me.
Gender
See -person.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of salesperson
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.
See Examples For:
Hord began his career as a salesperson in Terre Haute, Ind., and was named Footwear News Man of the Year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026
A candidate like Jack Schlossberg, now running for Congress in Manhattan’s 12th District, is at least more self-aware of his role as salesperson than most.
From Slate ● Jun. 18, 2026
To be a great philosophical mind — that is, someone who can convince others of their beliefs about the human mind and our larger nature — one must also be a salesperson.
From Salon ● Apr. 29, 2026
Across the way, a salesperson calls out to pedestrians to come in to visit her shop.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 13, 2026
That's what his mother called it when a salesperson chatted her up.
From "The Lemonade War" by Jacqueline Davies
We leaned in to that and hired a bunch of baristas instead of salespeople.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 16, 2026
But those cases all involved human decisions -- executives, salespeople or engineers who made choices and cut corners.
From Barron's ● May 11, 2026
Palantir CEO Alex Karp touted the company’s “ staggering growth” despite “a hiring discipline that is too rare in the software industry today,” highlighting that it only has 70 salespeople.
From MarketWatch ● May 5, 2026
Palantir’s revenue per employee reached $1.5 million on an annualized basis, and Karp pointed out on the earnings call that the company only employs 70 salespeople.
From MarketWatch ● May 4, 2026
What Golomb is saying is that most salespeople are prone to a classic Warren Harding error.
From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell
At that business, higher wages and the hiring of additional specialized salespersons in preparation for the spinoff are taking a toll.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 18, 2025
I also interviewed more than 100 current and former engineers, privacy professionals, product managers, salespersons, and lawyers from the largest Silicon Valley tech companies.
From Slate ● Dec. 2, 2021
And with some salespersons it takes considerable time and energy to get an explicit price for your job.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 29, 2017
"Would you bring your family and friends and you can be my salespersons."
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 1, 2015
As made out by salespersons in duplicate, one half is detached with address and sent with the goods, and the other half remains attached to the purchasing ticket until the purchase is completed.
From How Department Stores Are Carried On by Phillips, W. B.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
