Vocabulary - Next Level English - Business Words

family firm

A firm that is in the hands of one family.

self-employed

Working for your own company/business

lifetime employment

Staying at the same company for your whole life

company ladder

Metaphore for promoting to a higher job

freelance

self-employed, hired by other companies

reference

a letter that is written by someone who knows you, to describe you and say if you are suitable for a job

direct mail

a method of advertising products or services by post

to gauge

to estimate

premises

A building that is used by a business

commuting

going from your house to work and vice versa

remotely

from home

production facility

where a product is made

multinational

a company that operates in several different countries

legislation

a law, or set of laws

competitor

a company with the same products or services as yours

confidential

meant not to be told to other people

automotive

business sector connected with cars or other vehicles

logo

a symbol that a company uses as its special design

cramped

not having enough space

delegate

a person chosen to attend a meeting, conference, etc

consumer

a person who buys goods or uses services

invoice

a list of what you must pay for goods you have received

budget

the money available for a company or department to use

chain

a group of shops or hotels owned by the same company

pharmaceuticals

business sector that produces medicines

challenging

difficult but interesting, because it tests your abilities

quarter

an accounting period of three months

deadline

a time or date by which something must be done

warehouse

a building where goods are stored before distribution

vital

necessary or essential

exports

products sold to another country

nationwide

happening all over a country

counter-productive

having the opposite effect to the one you wanted

correspondence

letters sent and received

faulty

not working properly or not made correctly

obligation

something which you must do

data

facts or information

graduate

a person who has a university degree

hectic

very busy, full of activity

agenda

a list of items to be discussed at a meeting

commercial

a radio or TV advertisement

yellow pages

a telephone directory (or section) that lists companies by categories

service contract

a written agreement to provide after-sales repairs and maintenance

reference number

a series of figures or letters used to identify a product, customer, etc.

head office

a company’s main premises

pension scheme

a system in which a company and an employee pay money so that the employee will have some income when he/ she retires

customer demand

people’s desire for goods or services of a particular type

power point

the place where you connect a piece of equipment to the electricity supply

attention span

the amount of time someone can concentrate on one thing

fringe benefit

something provided in addition to your salary

chairperson

Conducts the business of the meeting and makes sure the goals of the meeting get achieved

minutes

An official record of the debate that took place

cornerstone

essential, extremely important thing

outcome

result

tedious

boring

to advocate

to be in favour of

scepticism

doubt, not believing

to enlist

to ask for / to say you’re going to do something

to dread

to fear

bulk

the most of something

to draw somebody out

to help someone to express their thoughts and feelings more easily by making that person feel less nervous

to single somebody out

to choose one person from a group for special attention, esp. criticism or praise

to waffle

to talk or write a lot without giving any useful information or any clear answers

sermon

a part of a Christian church ceremony in which a priest gives a talk on a religious or moral subject, often based on something written in the Bible (preek)

to inhibit

to prevent someone from doing something by making them feel nervous or embarrassed

divisive

something that causes great disagreement within a group of people

keen

very interested, eager, or wanting (to do) something very much

to bounce something off someone

tell someone about an idea/plan to find out what they think of it

to wrap up

to complete something successfully