bagman

[ bag-man bag-muhn ]

noun

, plural bag·men [bag, -men, bag, -m, uh, n].

1. dishonest official; a person who collects, carries, or distributes illegal payoff money.
2. British. a traveling salesman; drummer.
3. Australian. a tramp; swagman.

bagman

/ ˈbæɡmən /

noun

1. informal.
   a travelling salesman
2. slang.
   a person who collects or distributes money for racketeers
3. informal.
   a person who solicits money or subscriptions for a political party
4. history a tramp or swagman, esp one on horseback
5. slang.
   Also calledbagswinger someone who takes money for a bookmaker

Word History and Origins

Origin of bagman¹

1525–35, for an earlier literally sense; bag + man

Example Sentences

E. Martin Estrada announced Tuesday that a grand jury has charged 24 defendants — drug traffickers, couriers, bagmen and brokers — with conspiring to distribute drugs, money laundering and operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business.

From Los Angeles Times

He goes through bagmen at a rate of knots.

From BBC

“It’s hard to believe that a Burmese tycoon that many have referred to as being junta leader Min Aung Hlaing’s bagman got off,” he said.

From New York Times

He had become trusted by O'Neill's Continuity IRA group, and he had also positioned himself as the bagman for their US fundraising effort, regularly delivering thousands of dollars from Chicago to O'Neill's group in Ireland.

From BBC

Their first mission, which is to track a bagman with a suitcase in the Madrid airport is a nifty sequence, which gets the film off to a good start.

From Salon

Related Words

• dealer
• drug trafficker