traveling salesman

A traveling salesman is a man whose job is to sell products or services by traveling to different places, often within a certain region or assigned territory.

A traveling salesman can be called a traveling salesperson. The equivalent term for a woman is traveling saleswoman. The plural of salesman is salesmen.

A salesman is often said to “work in sales”—in which sales refers to the type of occupation or the division or department within a company. The term salesman can refer to a man who sells directly to customers or to other businesses or organizations. Sometimes, salespersons sell things in person, such as at a retail store or dealership. They also commonly sell things over the phone or by communicating with people online.

A traveling salesman, though, typically meets with potential customers in person—this is often the whole point of traveling. In the past, it was common for some salesmen to travel door-to-door to make sales to people at home. Some traveling salesmen are door-to-door salesmen, while others may simply visit customers along a specific route. For example, a traveling salesman who sells wholesale food products may visit all of the restaurants within an area.

The traveling salesman problem refers to a math problem that involves determining the shortest route through several points. It’s sometimes called the traveling salesperson problem. 

Example: To be a successful traveling salesman, you have to know the territory and the people in it.

The first records of the term traveling salesman come from the 1870s (traveling salesperson didn’t enter widespread use until about 100 years later). Salesman formed with the ending -man, which is used in many other terms that specify occupation, such as businessman and fisherman. This ending can be replaced with -woman or the gender-neutral -person, as in saleswoman and salesperson.

Being a traveling salesman is a notoriously hard job. They often have to be on the road for long stretches of time. And, like most salespeople, many traveling salesmen are at least partly paid on commission—a percentage of sales that goes into their pay. This means their pay is determined by how many sales they make. Willy Loman, the main character in the 1949 Arthur Miller play Death of a Salesman, is a traveling salesman.

What are some other forms related to traveling salesman? 

• traveling salesmen (plural)

What are some synonyms for traveling salesman?

• traveling salesperson

What are some words that share a root or word element with traveling salesman? 

• salesman
• traveling saleswoman
• traveling salesman problem
• sales rep
• sales representative
• businessman

What are some words that often get used in discussing traveling salesman?

• problem
• road
• territory
• region
• door-to-door
• commission
• product
• goods
• services

Traveling salesman is most likely to be used to refer to someone’s occupation. A traveling salesman’s job title is more likely to be something like regional sales rep.

"My great-grandfather worked as a traveling salesman in the Andes of Argentina … I tried to recreate the experience my great-grandfather must have gone through, stopping in small towns & big cities." — Jordan Salama '19: https://t.co/NKiYJopUxn #TellUsTigers pic.twitter.com/l0kccBFCM6

— Princeton University (@Princeton) April 20, 2018

My Nana, as a young woman, Played the piano in the movie theater for silent films. Later she worked at Lord&Taylors in NYC selling gloves and handbags. Her husband, my Poppop, was a traveling salesman for GE/Hotpoint.

— Nancy Vienneau (@NancyVienneau) July 27, 2020

At the peak of its popularity, I was a traveling salesman w a 13 state territory. @GuyFieri saved me from the chains https://t.co/FRPX1wzC9b

— Max Wastler (@maxwastler) September 7, 2016

True or False? 

The traveling salesman problem refers to the difficulty of finding nice bathrooms to use while on the road.