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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. 

RUN AN AD  

Phrase

  • to place/put an advertisement in a publication.
Example Sentence: The government decided to run an ad to tell the public about the new gas tax.
 

KEEP BOOKS kip bʊks

Phrase

  • to keep records of money that is gained or spent.
Example Sentence: The new sales manager does not know how to keep books and he has made many mistakes.
 

FLOAT (SOMEONE) A LOAN  

Phrase

  • to loan someone money.
Example Sentence: I asked the bank to float me a loan so that I could buy a new car.
 

AT A LOSS  

Phrase

  • At less than the cost, at a financial loss.
Example Sentence: Everything was on sale but at a loss so the prices were very low.
 

EXPLOIT ɛksplɔɪt

Verb

  • use to your benefit.
Example Sentence: The country's resources are not being fully exploited.
 

CEILING silɪŋ

Noun

  • the highest amount or limit that can be charged for a product or service; also, the maximum number or quantity of goods that can be produced.
Example Sentence: The government decided to intervene and place a price ceiling on certain products - the impact on consumer demand and production was dramatic.
 

BREAKEVEN breɪkˈivən

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.
 

ACQUISITION ækwəˈzɪʃən

Noun

  • the activity when one company buys another one.
Example Sentence: Our company is planning to make acquisitions in the Far East for strategic reasons.
 

YIELD yild

Noun

  • Return on investment shown as a percentage.
Example Sentence: On average last year I was getting a 7.7% yield on my property investments.
The company offered a 10% yield on its investment.
 

GARDEN LEAVE gɑrdn liv

Phrase

  • Paid cooling off period, typically three months, that your contract stipulates you cannot work before starting a new job. This is used by financial firms, in particular, to prevent people walking straight into a new job with hot information.
Example Sentence: He quit and was offered a job by one of the main competitors. He’s on garden leave for a few months.
 

UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFIT /ʌnɛmˈplɔɪmənt bɛnəfɪt/

Noun

  • Unemployment benefit is regularly paid by the government to people who do not have a job.
Example Sentence: Over 2 million people in the United Kingdom receive unemployment benefit.
 

PAY OFF peɪ ɒf

Phrase

  • to succeed, to yield good results.
Example Sentence: I hope that our plans for the new business will pay off.
 

DRAFT drɑft

noun

  • A draft is a piece of text, a formal suggestion or a drawing in its original state, often containing the main ideas and intentions but not the developed form.
Example Sentences: This is only a rough draft - the finished article will have pictures as well.
She asked me to check the (first) draft of her proposal.
 

TO CUT CORNERS /tu; kʌt kɔrnərs/

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.
 

COURSE kɔrs

noun

  • Course has many meanings, but the most common meaning is a set of classes or a plan of study on a particular subject, usually resulting in an exam or qualification.
Example Sentences: Tim did a three-year course in linguistics at London University.
They're going away on a training course next week.
 
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