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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. 

BIGWIG bɪgˌwɪg

Phrase

  • an important person, a leader
Example Sentence: Some of the bigwigs of our company came to visit our factory.
 

BIG CHEESE bɪg tʃiz

Phrase

  • an important person, a leader.
Example Sentence: The new director was a big cheese in his previous company but he is not so important now.
 

BEAN COUNTER bin kaʊntər

Phrase

  • an accountant.
Example Sentence: We asked the bean counters to look at the figures in the new budget.
 

BANKROLL SOMEONE bæŋkˌroʊl

Phrase

  • to supply someone with money, to finance someone.
Example Sentence: The movie actor bankrolled his son while the son was producing his first movie.
 

BANKER’S HOURS bæŋkərs aʊərs

Phrase

  • short work hours (similar to when a bank is open)
Example Sentence: My sister's husband owns his own company and works banker's hours most days.
 

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.
 

BANG FOR THE BUCK  

Phrase

  • value for the money spent.
Example Sentence: We were able to get much bang for our buck when we advertised on the Internet.
 

AJOURN A MEETING  

Phrase

  • to end a meeting.
Example Sentence: We adjourned the meeting until the next day.
 

SET-TO sɛtˌtu

Noun

  • a sharp, usually brief argument or fight.
Example Sentence: The employees won several victories in November's set-to over overtime and perks.
 

TOP BRASS tɒp bræs

Noun

  • people in the key positions of an organization or a company.
Example Sentence: The car manufacturer's top brass started panicking when share prices plunged at the beginning of Q2.
 

BIPARTISAN baɪˈpɑrtəzən

Adjective

  • involving two political parties.
Example Sentence: Yesterday there was a bipartisan meeting on the issue of health care reform at the headquarters of the governing party.
 

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.
 

CONTINGENCY FEE kənˈtɪndʒənsi fi

Noun

  • (in the legal industry) a legal fee determined as a certain percentage of the award.
Example Sentence: We promised to pay a 10% contingency fee upon successful completion of the case, i.e. if we win and get our $10M compensation from the factory.
 

CAPPED FEE kæpt fi

Noun

  • the maximum a company can charge for its services.
Example Sentence: The government has announced to cap tuition fees at $500 per month.
 

FLAT FEE flæt fi

Noun

  • a fixed fee for a service that remains unchanged regardless of usage (e.g. a law firm is not paid by the hour for its services in a particular case but the type of case has a fixed fee)
Example Sentence: We will assist you with any business related legal issue and we offer you a flat fee payment option.
 
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