Meaning & use
businessperson
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Meaning
nouncountable
Someone who works in business, especially by owning, running or investing in companies, regardless of gender.
Grammar: Plural is businesspeople, not businesspersons in most writing.
Patterns
- a successful businessperson
- a businessperson from somewhere
She is a respected businessperson who started three companies before turning forty.
The conference was full of young businesspeople looking for investors.
As a local businessperson, he sponsors the town's soccer team.
Word forms
| plural | businesspeople |
|---|
Common combinations
- successful businessperson
- She became a successful businessperson in the fashion industry.
- local businessperson
- A local businessperson donated the new library computers.
- shrewd businessperson
- Her grandmother was a shrewd businessperson who never wasted a coin.
- aspiring businessperson
- The course is aimed at every aspiring businessperson.
- seasoned businessperson
- A seasoned businessperson gave the students advice.
Synonyms and how they differ
- entrepreneur
- An entrepreneur starts new ventures and takes risks, but a businessperson may simply run or work in an established company.
- executive
- An executive holds a senior management post in a company, which is narrower than businessperson.
- merchant
- Merchant is older and mainly means someone who buys and sells goods.
- tycoon
- Tycoon implies a very rich and powerful business figure, far more than ordinary businessperson.
Word family
- business noun
- commercial activity or a company
- businesspeople noun
- the plural of businessperson
- businesslike adjective
- practical and efficient
- businessman noun
- a man in business, now often replaced by the neutral term
Commonly confused: businessperson or businesslike?
businessperson vs businesslike
Businesslike is an adjective describing efficient behavior; businessperson is a noun naming a type of worker.
Practice
What is the plural of businessperson?
Choose one answer.
Businesspeople is the usual plural. Businesspersons is occasionally seen but is less natural, and the others are not standard forms.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “businessperson”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.