Meanings
nounbusinessman (plural businessmen)
plural businessmen
- A man in business, one who works at a commercial institution.
I'm not a businessman, I'm a business, man
2005, “Diamonds From Sierra Leone (Remix)”, in Late Registration, performed by Kanye West ft. Jay-Z2 more examples
BERTIE Ahern's explanation that he received an envelope stuffed with £8,000 in cash following a whip-around by a group of Manchester-based businessmen was branded untrue by the Mahon Tribunal.
2012 March 23, Colm Kelpie, “Claim of 'whip-around' by friends rubbished”, in Irish IndependentNeedless to say the obituaries for Hefner, even if they acknowledge the seaminess, have been full of encomia for his great deeds: Hef the vanquisher of puritanism, Hef the political progressive, Hef the great businessman and all the rest.
2017 September 30, Ross Douthat, “Speaking Ill of Hugh Hefner”, in The New York TimesSynonyms: businessperson
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA man in business, one who works at a commercial institution.
Similar
More synonyms by meaning
nouna man engaged in commercial or industrial business
Similar
man of affairs
Broader
Also see
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
From business + -man. Displaced earlier merchant, ultimately from Latin mercāns (“merchant, buyer”).
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic رَجُل أَعْمَال, تَاجِر
- رَجُل أَعْمَال (rajul ʔaʕmāl)a man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
- تَاجِر (tājir)a man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
Basque enpresaburu, enpresari
- enpresaburua man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
- enpresaria man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
Bulgarian би́знесмен
- би́знесмен (bíznesmen)a man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
Catalan empresari, home de negocis
- empresaria man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
- home de negocisa man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
Chinese Cantonese 商人
- 商人 (soeng¹ jan⁴)a man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
Chinese Mandarin 商人
- 商人 (shāngrén)a man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
Czech obchodník, podnikatel
- obchodníka man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
- podnikatela man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
Danish forretningsmand
- forretningsmanda man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
Dutch zakenman
- zakenmana man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
Esperanto aferisto
- aferistoa man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
Estonian ärimees
- ärimeesa man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
Finnish liikemies, bisnesmies
- liikemiesa man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
- bisnesmiesa man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
French homme d'affaires
- homme d'affairesa man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
German Geschäftsmann, Unternehmer
- Geschäftsmanna man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
- Unternehmera man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
Greek επιχειρηματίας
- επιχειρηματίας (epicheirimatías)a man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
Hebrew אִישׁ עַסָקִים
- אִישׁ עַסָקִים ('ish asakím)a man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
Hindi व्यापारी, व्यवसायी
- व्यापारी (vyāpārī)a man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
- व्यवसायी (vyavsāyī)a man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
- कारोबारी (kārobārī)a man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
Hungarian üzletember
- üzletembera man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
Icelandic kaupsýslumaður
- kaupsýslumaðura man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
Indonesian pengusaha, usahawan
- pengusahaa man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
- usahawana man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
- usahawatia man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
Irish fear gnó
- fear gnóa man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
Italian uomo d'affari, affarista
- uomo d'affaria man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
- affaristaa man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
Japanese 実業家, ビジネスマン
- 実業家 (jitsugyōka)a man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
- ビジネスマン (bijinesuman)a man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
Korean 실업가, 비즈니스맨
- 실업가 (sireopga)a man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
- 비즈니스맨 (bijeuniseumaen)a man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
Latin negōtiātor, negotians
- negōtiātora man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
- negotiansa man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
Latvian biznesmenis, uzņēmējs
- biznesmenisa man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
- uzņēmējsa man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
Lithuanian verslininkas
- verslininkasa man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
Malay peniaga, ahli perniagaan
- peniagaa man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
- ahli perniagaana man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
Māori kaipakihi
- kaipakihia man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
Norwegian Bokmål forretningsmann
- forretningsmanna man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
Polish biznesmen, przedsiębiorca
- biznesmena man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
- przedsiębiorcaa man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
- człowiek interesówa man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
Portuguese empresário, homem de negócios
- empresárioa man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
- homem de negóciosa man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
- negociantea man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
Romanian om de afaceri, businessman
- om de afaceria man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
- businessmana man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
- afacerista man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
Russian предпринима́тель, бизнесме́н
- предпринима́тель (predprinimátelʹ)a man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
- бизнесме́н (biznɛsmén)a man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
- делово́й челове́к (delovój čelovék)a man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
Slovak obchodník, podnikateľ
- obchodníka man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
- podnikateľa man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
Spanish hombre de negocios, empresario
- hombre de negociosa man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
- empresarioa man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
- negociantea man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
Swahili mfanyabiashara
- mfanyabiasharaa man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
Swedish affärsman
- affärsmana man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
Tagalog negosyante
- negosyantea man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
Thai นักธุรกิจ
- นักธุรกิจ (nák-tú-rá-gìt)a man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
Turkish iş adamı
- iş adamıa man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
Ukrainian бізнесме́н, підприє́мець
- бізнесме́н (biznesmén)a man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
- підприє́мець (pidpryjémecʹ)a man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
Urdu کَاروبارِی
- کَاروبارِی (kārobārī)a man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
Vietnamese thương gia, doanh nhân
- thương giaa man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
- doanh nhâna man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
Welsh dyn busnes
- dyn busnesa man in business, one who works at a commercial institution
Cite this entry
APA
businessman. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/businessman
MLA
“businessman.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/businessman. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “businessman,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/businessman.
Source: businessman on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.