businessman

/ˈbɪznəsmən/

//ˈbɪznəsmən// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"businessman" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“businessman” has 15 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #7,657. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#7,657
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords
15
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A man in business, one who works at a commercial institution.

Corpus desk

Index EN-businessman · businessman · English

businessman · rank #7,657 · 15 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-COMMON #7,657
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 15 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH builds

Nearest frequency peer: builds (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “businessman”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “businessman” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

businessman vs businesswoman
85% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for businessman
PropertyValue
Headwordbusinessman
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈbɪznəsmən/
Letters11
Frequency rank#7,657
Misspellings tracked15
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “businessman”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).businessmanlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “builds” (#7,656), “cab” (#7,658), “brake” (#7,655). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “businessman” is #7,657. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 15 spelling variants around businessman (IPA /ˈbɪznəsmən/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #7,657 among 4,121 “B” headwords. Dominant gloss: "A man in business, one who works at a commercial institution.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for businessman, with forms such as "bbusinessman", "bsuinessman", and "buisnessman". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "businesswoman", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From business + -man. Displaced earlier merchant, ultimately from Latin mercāns (“merchant, buyer”). The correct English form is businessman, spelled B-U-S-I-N-E-S-S-M-A-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    A man in business, one who works at a commercial institution.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how businessman appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. I'm not a businessman, I'm a business, man
  2. 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.

Etymology

From business + -man. Displaced earlier merchant, ultimately from Latin mercāns (“merchant, buyer”).

This word in other languages

empresario(Español)homme d'affaires(Français)Geschäftsmann(Deutsch)negociante(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • bbusinessman
  • bsuinessman
  • buisnessman
  • busienssman
  • businesman
  • businesmsan
  • businessamn
  • businessmann
  • businessmman
  • businessmna
  • businnessman
  • businsesman
  • busniessman
  • bussinessman
  • ubsinessman

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of businessman - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

bbusinessman1bsuinessman2buisnessman2busienssman2businesman1businesmsan2businessamn2businessmann1
Edit distance from "businessman"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "businessman"?
"businessman" is spelled B-U-S-I-N-E-S-S-M-A-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈbɪznəsmən/.
What does "businessman" mean?
As a noun, "businessman" means: A man in business, one who works at a commercial institution.
What words are commonly confused with "businessman"?
"businessman" is commonly confused with "businesswoman". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "businessman"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "businessman" is /ˈbɪznəsmən/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "businessman"?
From business + -man. Displaced earlier merchant, ultimately from Latin mercāns (“merchant, buyer”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "businessman", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

accessories#7,640quarterback#7,728reservation#7,733sensitivity#7,740

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (15 here; floor ≥5).

revelation15 variantsmeditation15 variantssupervisor15 variantssynthetic15 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list