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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. 

TURN OVER tɜrn oʊvər

Phrase

  • to do business to a certain amount of money/products.
Example Sentence: We turned over most of our stock last month.
 

PREFERRED CUSTOMER prɪˈfɜrd kʌstəmər

Phrase

  • a customer who does much business with you.
Example Sentence: The man is a preferred customer and he always receives his products soon after he orders them.
 

MAKE AN OFFER  

Phrase

  • to make a financial proposal for a product or service.
Example Sentence: We want to buy the house and we plan to make an offer on Saturday.
 

DELIVER THE GOODS  

Phrase

  • to succeed in doing a good job of something.
Example Sentence: The new manager is not very popular but he is able to deliver the goods.
 

TO WORK IN SHIFTS  

Phrase

  • to work in a certain period of the day after and/or before another group of workers.
Example Sentence: After working on the night shift for half a year, James realized his sleep pattern became extremely problematic – he wasn't able to sleep at night on his days-off anymore.
 

TO SOW THE SEEDS  

Phrase

  • to start a process etc that is going to have a certain result.
Example Sentence: Capital inflows could sow the seeds of a new renaissance.
 

OVERHAUL oʊvərˌhɔl

Noun

  • a general, thorough examination of machinery, computers, systems etc
Example Sentence: Productivity has been decreasing gradually in the past few months so a complete overhaul of the system is absolutely necessary.
 

TO BOUNCE BACK baʊns bæk

Verb

  • to return to a higher level after suffering from difficulties for a while.
Example Sentence: The Chinese economy has already bounced back after the recession and now it's booming.
 

INVOICE ɪnvɔɪs

Noun

  • a detailed bill for items or service.
Example Sentence: The invoice was received by the customer within two weeks.
 

SECURITIES sɪˈkyʊərɪti

Noun

  • Transferable certificates showing ownership of stock, bonds, shares, options, etc.
Example Sentence: Before we can grant you a loan, we would need some collateral from you in the form of securities.
 

FIXED COSTS fɪkst kɒst

Phrase

  • Are costs that are incurred by the firm whether it produces or not, and that remain constant in amount whether its production volume is large or small.
Example Sentences: Rent, insurance, and salaries of supervisory personnel are common examples of fixed costs.
Or fixed costs are too high, we will need to reduce the number of staff we employ.
 

TO ISSUE A CREDIT CARD  

Phrase

  • to give a credit card to a customer.
Example Sentence: The bank issues three kinds of credit cards.
 

RUN UP /rʌn ʌp/

Phrasal Verb

  • to do things which cause you to owe a large amount of money.
Example Sentence: She stayed two weeks at the hotel and ran up a bill which she couldn't pay.
 

FREELANCER friˌlænsər

Noun

  • someone who earns their living by selling their work/services to different employers or companies without a (long-term) contract.
Example Sentence: As a freelancer, you cannot afford to be lazy and just wait for orders to come in – you really have to be pro-active.
 

IN SHORT SUPPLY /in ʃɔrt səˈplaɪ/

phrase

  • If something is in short supply, then there is not very much of it available.
Example Sentences:Qualified persons are in short supply for this position.
As we are in short supply of pens, will somebody please go and order some more?
 
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