Business Word/Phrase of the Day

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TO HAVE ONE'S HAND or FINGERS IN THE TILL  

17 Oct 2019

phrase

  • If you have your fingers or hand in the till, you steal money from the place where you work.
Example Sentences: The accountant had stolen a lot of money. He'd had his hand in the till for years.
He was caught with his hand in the till and was fired immediately.
 

TO MAKE A KILLING  

16 Oct 2019

phrase

  • If you make a killing, you earn a lot of money in a short time and with little effort.
Example Sentences: I bought the shares cheap and sold them for a lot. I really made a killing.
They made a killing with the sale of their London house.
 

TO RUN A TIGHT SHIP  

15 Oct 2019

phrase

  • If someone runs a tight ship, they do their job or manage their department or organization in a very efficient manner.
Example Sentences: She's an excellent manager. She runs a really tight ship.
This department used to be run as a tight ship, but look at it now!
 

TO BE IN THE MARKET FOR SOMETHING  

14 Oct 2019

phrase

  • If you are in the market for something, you are looking for something particular that you want to buy.
Example Sentences: No, I do not like this car. Actually, I am in the market for a new Mercedes.
We were in the market for a new house, but we decided instead to move to an apartment.
 

TO CUT ONE'S LOSSES  

13 Oct 2019

phrase

  • If you cut your losses, you stop wasting time or money on something, so you will not lose any more time or money.
Example Sentences: After spending weeks on the project and seeing no profit, the director decided to cut the company's losses and end the project.
The new restaurant already had a bad reputation so the owners cut their losses and closed it down.
 

TO GIVE SOMEONE THE GREEN LIGHT  

12 Oct 2019

phrase

  • If you give something or someone the green light, you give your permission to start something.
Example Sentences:We were all prepared to start the project. We were just waiting for the director to give us the green light.
On Tuesday, all of the new employees will be given the green light and the store will officially open for business.
 

TO SELL LIKE HOTCAKES  

11 Oct 2019

phrase

  • If something sells like hotcakes, it sells very quickly in large numbers.
Example Sentences: When the new iPod came out, it sold like hotcakes.
All the manufacturer did was add a new keyboard and the product sold like hotcakes.
 

TO GAIN GROUND  

10 Oct 2019

phrase

  • To gain ground is to begin to see a profit, or to start to do better at something.
Example Sentences: Our stock was dropping for weeks but now it is gaining ground.
If the store sells off all of its old merchandise, it might gain some ground in three months.
 

TO CUT CORNERS /tu; kʌt kɔrnərs/

09 Oct 2019

phrase

  • To cut corners is to use faster and easier methods in return for lower quality products.
Example Sentences: My office decided that all employees should stop cutting corners, so now we must create all of our own documents.
The engineers had cut too many corners when they started saying paper was a good material for building commercial airlines.
 

TO CLOSE A DEAL /tu; kloʊz eɪ dil/

08 Oct 2019

phrase

  • If you close a deal, you make a successful business arrangement with someone.
Example Sentences:We closed a deal with a major supermarket to supply them with Australian oranges.
I must close a few deals today; otherwise, I'm hardly going to make any commission this month.
 

TO BREAK EVEN /tu; breɪk ivən/

07 Oct 2019

phrase

  • If you break even, you have neither made a profit nor lost money.
Example Sentences: In his first year in business, although he had made many contacts, he still only broke even.
Our restaurant was lucky because it did not fail; however, next year we are hoping to do more than break even.
 

TO GET SOMETHING OFF THE GROUND  

06 Oct 2019

phrase

  • To get something off the ground is to actually start something that has been planned.
Example Sentences: We have the plans to build this. Now, what do we have to do to get this off the ground?
Let's see if we can finally get this merger off the ground!
 

TO TAKE A CALCULATED RISK /tu; teɪk eɪ kælkyəˌleɪtɪd rɪsk/

05 Oct 2019

phrase

  • If you take a calculated risk, you take a chance, but you know exactly what will happen if you fail.
Example Sentences: Yes, it is possible we may lose this deal, but it is a calculated risk we are willing to take.
Mr. Gardner knows we're taking a calculated risk in this case, but he believes the rewards are too good to not take it.
 

TO MAKE A COLD CALL /tu; meɪk eɪ koʊld kɔl/

04 Oct 2019

phrase

  • To make a cold call is to make a sales call to a stranger.
Example Sentences: If you become an employee with our company, you will start in the sales department making cold calls.
The salesman looked in the phone book, started with A and just made cold calls all week until he got to the letter Z.
 

A KICKBACK kɪkˌbæk

03 Oct 2019

Noun

  • an amount of money that is paid illegally for favours.
Example Sentence: The construction company was giving kickbacks to the local politicians.
 
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