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:
Laerte Bandeira, owner of Piracicaba-based machinery dealer Tratorex and a former Caterpillar salesman, said equipment makers have been cutting prices since Trump’s tariffs hit—the sharpest decline he has seen in 50 years in the business.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 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
Carney dons his best furniture salesman hat to make the pitch of a lifetime, a deal that could save Robert’s life, or take Carney’s.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
The salesman dumped the stones back into the pouch.
From "Ruby Holler" by Sharon Creech
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
Back in 1879, those clerks and salesmen and their wives who frequented bucket shops understood they were operating outside the bounds of Wall Street.
From Barron's ● Apr. 7, 2026
Xerox created a new, better machine only to have it sell less well than the inferior older ones—until they figured out the salesmen got a bigger commission for selling the older one.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
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.
