salesman

noun

sales·​man ˈsālz-mən 

plural salesmen

: a person (especially a man) whose job is to sell a product or service in a given territory, in a store, or by telephone compare salesperson, saleswoman

Synonyms of salesman

• clerk
• salesperson

Examples of salesman in a Sentence

He was the company's best salesman last year.

a furniture salesman followed us around the whole time we looked for a new couch

Recent Examples on the Web

Trant was 19 when her father, Daniel Trant, a Cantor Fitzgerald bond salesman, died on the 104 floor of the North Tower. — Isabelle Farina, Variety, 20 Aug. 2026

Leavell, a retired salesman and Air Force veteran in Arlington, Texas, experienced the dramatic before-and-after result at UT Southwestern Medical Center. — Melissa Rudy, FOXNews.com, 18 Aug. 2026

Days later, rescue crews found the body of the 24-year-old eyewear salesman in the rubble of his hotel, according to Noticias Caracol and the Magdalena Daily. — Desiree Anello, PEOPLE, 15 Aug. 2026

The Coens won Best Original Screenplay, and Frances McDormand took her first Oscar home for playing the unforgettable Marge Gunderson, a Minnesotan cop who gets entangled in a car salesman’s deeply inept foray into the criminal world. — Brian Tallerico, Vulture, 13 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1523, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing salesman

• traveling salesman

Rhymes for salesman

• salesmen

Kids Definition

salesman

noun

sales·​man -mən 

: one who sells in a specific territory or in a store

salesmanship

-ˌship

noun