salesman
Americannoun
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salesmen
plural
noun
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Gender-neutral form: salesperson. Also called: saleswoman, salesgirl, saleslady. a person who sells merchandise or services either in a shop or by canvassing in a designated area
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short for travelling salesman
Usage
What does salesman mean? A salesman is a man whose job is to sell products or services. The plural of salesman is salesmen. The equivalent term for a woman is saleswoman. Both terms are still commonly used, but salesperson and sales rep (or sales representative) are often used in their place. A salesman is often said to “work in sales”—in which sales refers to the type of occupation or the division or department within a company. A salesman can sell directly to customers or to other businesses or organizations. Sometimes, salesmen 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 salesmen to travel door-to-door to make sales to people at home, leading to the term door-to-door salesman. A salesman who has to travel as part of his job can be called a traveling salesman. The word salesman 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. This skill or quality can be called salesmanship. Example: The salesman told me that this was the best deal he could give me.
Gender
See -man.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of salesman
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:
Mr. David never took the test, getting by instead with an assortment of gigs that included bra salesman, paralegal, limousine chauffeur and cabdriver.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
Kimi Chi, a salesman from the central city of Taichung, had travelled through the night to be able to photograph the aircraft landing in Taitung.
From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026
This makes him an ideal mark for a certain kind of salesman.
From Salon ● Aug. 27, 2026
Six months ago, Rebecca Holder contacted the BBC after a visit from stair lift salesman Jason Sarver.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
The salesman had told Hale that because he wasn’t Roan’s relative, he could become his beneficiary only if he were his creditor.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
You can see why Wall Street salesmen are lying to you.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026
Like “Born in the U.S.A.” and “Rockin’ in the Free World,” “Pink Houses” was practically destined to be misinterpreted by elected salesmen peddling easy fantasies.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
"We joke about basically being travelling T-shirt salesmen," singer Patrick Turner says.
From BBC ● Apr. 24, 2026
At the same time, volatility in the financial markets is helping traders and salesmen collect fees from buying and selling stocks, bonds and derivatives from clients who want to reposition their portfolios.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 13, 2026
People subscribed to them because the salesmen were so pitiful.
From "Slaughterhouse-Five" by Kurt Vonnegut
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.
