traveling salesman

noun

1. a male representative of a business firm who travels in an assigned territory soliciting orders for a company's products or services.

Word History and Origins

Origin of traveling salesman¹

An Americanism dating back to 1875–80

Example Sentences

Chuck Taylor was a semi-pro basketball player and traveling salesman for the Converse Rubber Shoe Company in the early 1920s when he designed the shoe.

From Los Angeles Times

At its heart is Jack, a traveling salesman played by Billy Crudup who sells condos on the moon — sorry, “lunar residencies” — to those disappointed with life on Earth.

From Seattle Times

Yes, Yankovic did acquire his first accordion from a traveling salesman.

From New York Times

His father was a traveling salesman who later worked for Kellogg’s, and his mother was a homemaker.

From Washington Post

So to use gendered language, scheduling is the classic “traveling salesman” problem—how do you optimize a bunch of different “stops” to form a route?

From Scientific American

When To Use

What does traveling salesman mean?

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.