spokesman
Americannoun
-
spokesmen
plural
-
a person who speaks for another or for a group.
-
a public speaker.
noun
Gender
See -man.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of spokesman
Explanation
A spokesman is a representative, someone who speaks for a group. The spokesman of your French club, for example, might announce the date of your bake sale during your school's morning announcements. You can use the noun spokesman whenever you're talking about an official speaker, a person who communicates information about a company, organization, or other group. It's most common to refer to a man in this position as a spokesman — a more inclusive term for males or females is spokesperson. Spokesman has been around since the 1500's, but spokesperson wasn't first used until the 1970's.
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:
A spokesman for Kliksberg said he inadvertently received the abatement because of a clerical error.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
The current owners are in the process of seeking buyers, with the Poundland management attempting a buyout, a spokesman said.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
The BlackRock Investment Institute has adjusted its positioning on U.S. equities a “handful of times” in recent years, mostly between overweight and neutral, a spokesman for the institute said in emailed comments.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2026
A Navy spokesman said that without his date of birth or other identifying information, it “cannot accurately locate this Sailor in our records.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026
Yoyo, the Big Mouth, had become the spokesman for her sisters, and she stood her ground in that bedroom.
From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez
U.S. military spokesmen have declined to provide the precise number of troops in the country.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 13, 2026
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian apologized to the Gulf states, though Qatari spokesmen say the attacks haven’t stopped, suggesting a rift within Iran’s possibly faltering leadership.
From Slate ● Mar. 13, 2026
In early March, the M23 announced the death of one of its spokesmen, Willy Ngoma, in a drone strike near the Rubaya mine in North Kivu province.
From Barron's ● Mar. 11, 2026
Taliban spokesmen deny her detention is related to her work as a journalist, according to local media.
From BBC ● Jan. 23, 2026
And Eldon and Rachael Rosen consisted as spokesmen for that corporate entity.
From "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick
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.
