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Business Word/Phrase of the Day

word-phrase-descEvery day we publish a business word or phrase together with audio pronunciation, phonetics, definition and example sentences. This is a great way to improve your workplace vocabulary as well as your pronunciation. To receive 'Business Word/Phrase of the Day' by email, just subscribe to our newsletter from the link above. 

TO SUBCONTRACT sʌbkənˈtrækt

07 Sep 2022

Verb

  • to pay a (third party) company or a person to carry out work that you have been given a contract to do earlier.
Example Sentence: Though we subcontracted manufacturing ages ago, we think carrying out the tasks related to design ourselves is crucial if we want to maintain the quality our customers are used to.
 

TO ROLL OUT roʊlˌaʊt

06 Sep 2022

Noun

  • to launch a new product or service in a market.
Example Sentence: We have just finished testing our new product line and we are planning to roll it out early next year.
 

SLUSH FUND slʌʃ slʌʃ

05 Sep 2022

Noun

  • a certain amount of money kept for illegal and/or dishonest purposes, mainly for politics OR a reserve fund (not necessarily in the context of corruption).
Example Sentence: We all know that almost all the parties in this country have money that can be used as a little slush fund when needed.
 

CONSIDERABLE kənˈsɪdərəbəl

04 Sep 2022

Adjective

  • significant, large.
Example Sentence: The earthquake last week was devastating. The damage to our business operations was considerable.
 

TO BRIBE braɪb

03 Sep 2022

Verb

  • to give someone (e.g. a civil servant) money (usually illegally) in the hope that they will do something for you in exchange.
Example Sentences: My son didn't want to do his homework so I bribed him with a big bar of chocolate.
Today someone tried to bribe me to give him a loan with better conditions but I refused to do so and immediately reported her to the management of the bank.
 

TO PLUMMET plʌmɪt

02 Sep 2022

Verb

  • to decrease/go down very quickly (and perhaps unexpectedly).
Example Sentence: We wanted to sell our share in the business but then share prices plummeted and we decided to wait some more time.
 

TO DOWNSIZE daʊnˌsaɪz

01 Sep 2022

Verb

  • to cut the number of employees because the company wants to reduce costs.
Example Sentence: When the company decided to 'let me go' because they were downsizing, I started to panic. It took me two weeks to calm down and start thinking about what's next.
 

TO RELOCATE riˈloʊkeɪt

31 Aug 2022

Verb

  • to find a new location for a company to operate.
Example Sentence: The minimum wage in this country has gone up significantly. I'm afraid we'll have to relocate soon. How about South East Asia?
 

TO GET INTO GEAR  

30 Aug 2022

Phrase

  • to find the right pace of work and to become effective.
Example Sentence: It was very hard to get into gear at work this morning after last night's party but I think now I'm more or less OK
 

TO FREEZE friz

29 Aug 2022

Verb

  • to hold the price of a product, service, salaries, wages etc at the same level for some time.
Example Sentence: The government has decided to freeze wages in the public sector due to the after-effects of the economic crisis.
 

TO FIRE SOMEONE faɪər sʌmˌwʌn

28 Aug 2022

Verb

  • to officially terminate somebody's employment; to make someone leave their job.
Example Sentences: He was so bad at handling customer complaints that in the end we had to fire him.
Andy got fired last week because he turned out to be the spy of our competitor.
 

TO PUT YOUR EGGS ALL IN ONE BASKET  

27 Aug 2022

Phrase

  • to choose one particular thing over another and not rely on several choices at the same time.
Example Sentence: He really put all his eggs into on one basket and decided to leave all the other markets and concentrate solely on India.
 

TO COME TO A HALT  

25 Aug 2022

Phrase

  • come to a stop in the process.
Example Sentence: The expansion of his company came to a halt when one of his employees embezzled a considerable
 

TO HAVE ONE’S FEET ON THE GROUND  

24 Aug 2022

Phrase

  • to be sensible.
Example Sentence: Despite his huge sudden success in business he manages to keep his feet on the ground.
 

BREAKEVEN breɪkˈivən

23 Aug 2022

Noun

  • the point at which a business operation can begin to make profit, and no longer loses money.
Example Sentence: I'm sure my husband's company will reach breakeven within a year.
 
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