company man

noun

|Updated on: 11 Jul 2018

Definition of company man

: a worker who acquiesces in company policy without complaint

Recent Examples of company man from the Web

Former Madrid defender Fernando Hierro, a solid RFEF company man with all of one season of Segunda División managerial experience under his belt, took over.

— brian straus, SI.com, "Dogged Russia Continues World Cup Run, Brings Spain's Celebrated Era to an End," 1 July 2018
The three-martini lunch may be remembered as an anachronistic ritual during which backslapping company men escaped a swallowing sense of existential pointlessness.

— adam sternbergh, New York Times, "Letter of Recommendation: Drinking at Lunch," 23 May 2018
Despite his deference to the chain of command, McMaster was not a company man in the narrow sense that the Army wanted.

— kathryn schulz, The New Yorker, "McMaster and Commander," 23 Apr. 2018
Barbara convinced a few company men to transfer their business to her.

— Longreads, "Life on the Oil Frontier," 23 Apr. 2018
Becoming the type of company man that former Penske champion and four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Rick Mears has become is something for which Castroneves yearns.

— brant james, USA TODAY Sports, "James: Helio Castroneves embraces future with Penske ... whatever it may hold," 18 Sep. 2017
Mnuchin, by contrast, is often viewed as a company man -- regurgitating talking points even in private discussions.

— sara murray and jeff zeleny, CNN, "Mnuchin's blunders bolstering Cohn's stock as tax reform looms," 14 Sep. 2017
Ho-Sang gave me the introductory lesson in drinking etiquette that is the first thing any company man in Seoul must learn.

— wesley yang, Bon Appetit, "A Fried Chicken Bender in South Korea," 9 May 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'company man.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.