company man

noun

: a worker who acquiesces in company policy without complaint

Examples of company man in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web After appearing as supercilious EPA company man Walter Peck in Ghostbusters, Atherton completed his trilogy of goofy comedies with Real Genius (1985) and Bio-Dome (1996). Declan Gallagher, EW.com, 28 Sep. 2023 Charles Martinet, the Nintendo company man who has voiced English-language Mario since 1991, is-a retiring from doing the Mario voice. Vulture, 21 Aug. 2023 There's the jealous religious leaders fearing loss of power, the company man concerned about keeping his job and keeping order ... and a betrayer whose love of wealth overcomes his love for a friend. Lauren Green, Fox News, 4 Apr. 2023 Brian Cox, perfectly furious and blow-dried; future Oscar winner Chris Cooper, the company man with no moral compass beyond damage control; a young Josh Hamilton and Walton Goggins (hi, Uncle Baby Billy!) barking out Bourne sightings and location codes from their desk-duty chairs. Leah Greenblatt, EW.com, 15 June 2022 Dead and Company is down by one company man. Chris Willman, Variety, 5 Jan. 2022 Still, Daniels was initially set up as something of an antagonist to Detective Jimmy McNulty — a loyal company man reluctantly forced to supervise McNulty’s reckless quest to take down the local Barskdale drug crew by any means necessary. Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 17 Mar. 2023 Mattinison was, perhaps, one of the last of an almost extinct genotype—the happy company man, the lifer. Susan Orlean, The New Yorker, 14 Mar. 2023 Pelé was the company man, Maradona was the outsider, their differences magnified by their petty long-standing quarrel over who was the better player. Los Angeles Times, 30 Dec. 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'company man.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1921, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of company man was circa 1921

Dictionary Entries Near company man

Cite this Entry

“Company man.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/company%20man. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.

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