salesman
Americannoun
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.
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.
Oscar nominee Chiwetel Ejiofor stars as Clark, a frustrated furniture store salesman struggling following the breakup of his marriage.
From BBC • May 29, 2026
A retired salesman once told me that sales is like fishing—you wait patiently for the right moment.
From Barron's • May 27, 2026
The son of a bartender and a liquor salesman, he was raised in Portland, Ore. — which he and his family still called home.
From Los Angeles Times • May 16, 2026
Luis Hernandez, a Geely salesman, said he has poached many longtime Ford and Chevrolet owners attracted to the affordable sticker prices and whiz-bang Chinese technology.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 29, 2026
Bob Golomb is a great car salesman because he is very good, in the moment, at intuiting the intentions and needs and emotions of his customers.
From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell
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.
