spokesman
Americannoun
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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:
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell denied that the U.S. was facing significant munitions shortages abroad.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026
After leaving the cell, officers returned a short time later to find Hoyos-Munoz unconscious and not breathing, the spokesman said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 29, 2026
A spokesman for the Eryri National Park Authority previously said there were "no plans to intervene in a dispute over hikers queuing at the top of Yr Wyddfa".
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026
"The priority is to ensure continuity of health services," WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 28, 2026
Reporters who had descended upon the hospital office fired questions at the spokesman, who kept saying brusquely, “I don’t know.”
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
Two spokesmen for the Afghan government did not respond to AFP's requests to comment on the decision.
From Barron's ● Jun. 17, 2026
Iranian spokesmen laid out their counterproposal in a statement Monday morning.
From Slate ● May 11, 2026
Taliban spokesmen deny her detention is related to her work as a journalist, according to local media.
From BBC ● Jan. 23, 2026
White House and Justice Department spokesmen didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 4, 2025
Meanwhile, clergymen, college presidents, and other self-appointed spokesmen for communal standards of morality seized upon the Burr-Hamilton encounter to launch a crusade against dueling throughout most of the northern states.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
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.
