traveling salesman

noun

: a traveling representative of a business concern who solicits orders usually in an assigned territory

Examples of traveling salesman in a Sentence

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Elizabeth D’Aiuto, who plays Marian, the librarian of this small Iowa town who captures the roving eye of traveling salesman and con man Harold Hill (Elliott Andrews), has a piercing soprano that many an opera singer would envy. — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 29 Oct. 2026 The effort required increases exponentially with the size of the problem; this is the case, for example, with finding the optimal route when given a series of parameters, as in the mathematical puzzle the traveling salesman problem. — Manon Bischoff, Scientific American, 6 Oct. 2026 In the 1990s, University of Southern California computer scientist Leonard Adleman solved the famous traveling salesman problem using nothing more than strings of nucleotides and biochemistry. — Mike McRae 22, New Atlas, 23 Sep. 2026 The pair were born to Leo Steinem, a traveling salesman, and Ruth Steinem. — Taijuan Moorman, USA Today, 4 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for traveling salesman

Word History

First Known Use

1833, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of traveling salesman was in 1833

Rhymes for traveling salesman

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Browse Nearby Words

traveling rings
traveling salesman
traveling staircase
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Cite this Entry

“Traveling salesman.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/traveling%20salesman. Accessed 1 Nov. 2026.

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Kids Definition

traveling salesman

noun
: a traveling representative of a business who solicits orders
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