salesman

[seylz-muhn]

noun

plural

salesmen 

1. a man who sells goods, services, etc.

salesman

/ ˈseɪlzmən /

noun

1. 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

2. short for travelling salesman

Gender Note

See -man.

Word History and Origins

Origin of salesman¹

First recorded in 1515–25; sales + -man

Example Sentences

On Tuesday, Starmer attempted to rally the troops, railing against “snake oil salesmen” on the left and the right of politics, while promising a more muscular state that would intervene to help working people.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Turns out Kerr has been a car salesman for the last 15 years, but you wouldn’t know that leaving “The Smashing Machine.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Every day, some of L.A.’s poorest residents line up outside the county benefits office in South Central, weaving their way through a swarm of salesmen hawking deals that feel too good to be true.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

"Our voice, the voice that's always fought for them is getting drowned out by the carnival of charlatans and the circus of snake oil salesmen."

Read more on BBC

The FBI has assigned him to man a table at recruitment fairs, but he’s an inept salesman and not much more effective as a father.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• agent 
• clerk 
• dealer 
• marketer www.thesaurus.com
• merchant 
• peddler 
• retailer www.thesaurus.com
• salesperson 
• saleswoman 
• shopkeeper 
• trader 
• vendor 

When To Use

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.