tradesman

American  

[treydz-muhn] / ˈtreɪdz mən /

noun

plural

tradesmen

1. a person engaged in trade.

2. a worker skilled in a particular craft; artisan; craftsman.

3. Chiefly British. a shopkeeper.

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tradesman British  

/ ˈtreɪdzmən /

noun

1. a man engaged in trade, esp a retail dealer

2. a skilled worker

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Gender

See -man.

Other Word Forms

• tradeswoman noun

Etymology

Origin of tradesman

First recorded in 1590–1600; trade + 's ¹ + -man

Example Sentences

For enterprising men, money from war, industry or trade was a passport through social frontiers—the tradesman, merchant or lucky naval captain could become a landed gentleman, as happens in Austen’s novels.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 21, 2025

The first—the shark—comes from Steven Spielberg’s 1975 blockbuster Jaws, in which a sheriff, a scientist, and a tradesman roll up their sleeves and put themselves in harm’s way to defeat a ferocious great white.

From Slate • Oct. 29, 2024

But he eventually developed a debilitating medical condition due to the injury, according to court documents, leading the skilled tradesman to quit his job.

From Los Angeles Times • May 23, 2024

Chris Jardine sleeps in a bedroom which looks more like a building site after the tradesman he hired took his money and never finished the work.

From BBC • Feb. 7, 2024

Wandering about among his worthless stock, with his long nose and thick spectacles and his bowed shoulders in the velvet jacket, he had always vaguely the air of being a collector rather than a tradesman.

From "1984" by George Orwell