GENERAL BUSINESS TERMS

VISUAL BUSINESS ENGLISH (A great way to learn and practice a variety of office/business-related terms)

Things around the office/Business English 1

Write the correct word (from the list on the right) to describe each picture: desk skyscraper blackberry 1. laptop 2. office 3. suit 4. water cooler 5. tie GENERAL BUSINESS TERMS

1 6. printer 7. cubicle 8. chart 9. receptionis 10. cell phone (*called a \English)

Things around the office/Business English 2

Write the correct word (from the list on the right) to describe each picture: credit bank laptop

GENERAL BUSINESS TERMS

2 1. bills 2. coins 3. briefcase 4. rolodex 5. monitor 6. presentatio GENERAL BUSINESS TERMS

3 7. board room 8. files 9. projector 10. handshake

Things around the office/Business English 3

Write the correct word (from the list on the right) to describe each picture: briefcase cooler pencil 1. file cabinet GENERAL BUSINESS TERMS

4 2. binder 3. to take notes 4. badge/ name tag 5. factory 6. atm GENERAL BUSINESS TERMS

5

7. form 8. interview 9. billboard 10. credit card

Things around the office/Business English 4

Write the correct word (from the list on the right) to describe each picture: board staples lounge 1. notepad GENERAL BUSINESS TERMS

6 2. stapler 3. paper clips 4. meeting 5. business card 6. office park 7. calculator GENERAL BUSINESS TERMS

7 8. brands 9. call center 10. keyboard

Things around the office/Business English 5

Write the correct word (from the list on the right) to describe each picture: stapler cabinet binder 1. to sign 2. exchange rate GENERAL BUSINESS TERMS

8 3. salary 4. vending machine 5. safe 6. cash register 7. ceo 8. photocopier GENERAL BUSINESS TERMS

9 9. envelope 10. post-its EXERCISES FOR BEGINNERS (Introduction to Business English terms): Business English Basics 1

1. He is the head of the accounting department = He's __________________________ of the accounting department. in charge charge

in control

2. I'd like to __________________________ you to Lisa, our database specialist. introduce meet

assist

3. I'm __________________________ manager at Disney. (There are many managers there) the an

a

4. I'm __________________________ CEO of Herbalife International. (There is only one CEO)

a

GENERAL BUSINESS TERMS

10

the

an

5. James always does __________________________ well. job working his job

6. You should always call the customer by their __________________________, not their first name. last name/surname second name

familiar name

7. I remember faces very well = I'm __________________________ good with faces good at faces

good in faces

8. Do you have any __________________________ on you? cards of business work cards business cards

9. Another word for colleague is __________________________. compatriot co-worker GENERAL BUSINESS TERMS

11 acquaintance

10. Our business is __________________________. We have to hire two more people. slowing down growing

growing up

Business English Basics 2

1. Many companies require you to wear a nice shirt and a __________________________ to work. tie hat

belt

2. Lowest paying jobs = __________________________ jobs Small wage Minimum wage

Little wage

3. I always have a __________________________ attitude. ( = I'm always optimistic) positive negative

pleased

4. I want to __________________________ for this seminar. sign sign up sign in

GENERAL BUSINESS TERMS

12 5. Victoria was __________________________ today. late 15 minutes late by 15 minutes

15 minutes late

6. To be __________________________ means to always be on time. punctured punctuated

punctual

7. The amount of work that you have to do is called your __________________________. workload job-load

work-heap

8. Please let me know __________________________. through email by email

with email

9. I'm sorry, he just __________________________ ( = left the office). He'll be back in half an hour. stormed out walked stepped out

10. He is always __________________________ to help me. willing GENERAL BUSINESS TERMS

13 wants

wailing

Business English Basics 3

1. I need a new chair. This one is not very __________________________. common comfortable

comforting

2. He __________________________ his time very well. counts takes manages

3. There's no rush. __________________________ your time. When you finish the report, let me know. Make Take

Count

4. My __________________________ is $50,000 per year. salary sale

celery

5. In Canada, __________________________ are higher than in the United States. taxes

tax

GENERAL BUSINESS TERMS

14 taxation

6. 25% of my __________________________ goes to taxes. cash incoming cash income

7. I'm __________________________ right now, can we talk in one hour? busy occupied

business

8. My __________________________ is very important to me. career workload

working

9. These days I almost have no __________________________. fun time free time

good time

10. We have to __________________________ ( = discuss/review) this report. go get over go over Business English Basics 4

GENERAL BUSINESS TERMS

15

1. Can you finish this __________________________ 5:00 PM today? by in

until

2. I don't think he's __________________________ ( = here) today. alone around

along

3. My __________________________ change all the time. ( = what I have to do changes all the time) duty responses duties

4. It's a manager's job to __________________________ duties to an employee. assign assist

assail

5. Could you please __________________________ ( = help) me with this? assail assign assist

6. He is always very __________________________.

helping

GENERAL BUSINESS TERMS

16 helpful

help-giving

7. This has to be done __________________________. as soon as possible as soon as probable

as soon possible

8. I got pregnant and was on __________________________ for six months. live

(maternity) leave

maternal

9. We were unable to come to an __________________________. ( = We were unable to agree) agree agreement

action

10. I don't work full-time. I work __________________________. partly part-schedule part-time Business English Basics 5

1. George doesn't have a job. He's __________________________. unaware unknown

unemployed GENERAL BUSINESS TERMS

17

2. It's a lot of work, but I can __________________________ it. hand handle

answer

3. Every meeting has an __________________________. This is a list of things that you have to discuss (go over) during the meeting. agency agenda

agent

4. There is no __________________________ on this = Not everyone agrees about this. consensus census

complaint

5. If something is mandatory, __________________________. it does not have to be done it is has to be done by a manager it has to be done

6. I think I should __________________________ ( = take part) in these discussions. participate part

control

7. I'm sorry, but could you please __________________________ ( = explain) what you mean by that?

GENERAL BUSINESS TERMS

18 clarify clear

clear out

8. Most meetings are held in the __________________________. lunch room stairwell boardroom

9. You and I make a __________________________! = You and I work really well together! great duo great team

great friends

10. I'd like to hear your __________________________ about this. ( = I'd like to know what you think about this) opinion/ thoughts speech

brainstorming

Business English Basics 6

1. We had to __________________________ some money to expand our business. burrow borough borrow

2. Victoria is very rich. Her and her husband made a ___________________ ( = a lot of money) in real estate.

fort

GENERAL BUSINESS TERMS

19 fortune

sale

3. I can't invest in your business because I can't ___________________ ( = find/gather) the money to do that. come down with come up with

come to

4. A ___________________ executive is someone with a very high position within a company. top-level top-notch

tip-top

5. Tom is not popular, but he is ___________________ by all the employees. respectfully respect respected

6. My manager almost never ___________________ my work. He's always very happy with way I do things. criticizes criticism

praises

7. Another way of saying \ shown the door

kicked out the door

GENERAL BUSINESS TERMS

20

cleaning the door

8. You didn't know he was going to quit? No, I guess I missed all the ___________________ signs. ( = signs that something was wrong) billboard stress warning

9. Do you think it's ___________________ to buy things online? safety safe

safely

10. A company that hasn't been around very long (a new company) is often called a ___________________. start-up (company) green company

newbie business

Business English Basics 7

1. We need the board of directors to _____________ ( = support) this proposal. get in get up get behind

2. I have to take Friday _____________. ( = I can't come to work on Friday) away off

free

GENERAL BUSINESS TERMS

21

3. I had a _____________ convincing the CEO to support my proposal. bad luck hard time

hard luck

4. Our company _____________ ( = makes) bottle caps. b + c produces

manufactures

5. We're the biggest _____________ of fireworks in the country. distribute distribution distributor

6. I can't ___________________ the meeting today ( = I won't be able to attend) - I've got an important project that's due this afternoon. make go

assist

7. I recommend that we hire another web developer. John can't ___________________ all the work by himself. handle hand

pursue

8. Let's start = Let's get ___________________

GENERAL BUSINESS TERMS

22 on start started

9. Let's ___________________ = Let's continue move up move on

get some things straight

10. Veronica, could you please get ___________________ with Bob ( = contact Bob) this afternoon? in touch touch

speaking

Business English Basics 8

1. We _____________ ( = finished) this contract last month. completed complicated

complimented

2. You have $100 _____________ ( = that you have to pay) on your account. outlandish outstanding

outspoken

3. I had a _____________ convincing the CEO to support my proposal. hard time GENERAL BUSINESS TERMS

23 bad luck

hard luck

4. I learned from this experience = It was a _____________ experience learned learning

learn

5. You will receive 50% _____________ ( = before you do the work), and the rest when you finish the contract. uptown upscale upfront

6. I have never ___________________ ( = had experience with) these types of clients. enticed assumed dealt with

7. How do I _____________ doing this? = What are the steps I should take in order to do this? go about go around

go out

8. He spent a great _____________ ( = a lot) of time and money. dole deal GENERAL BUSINESS TERMS

24 dial

9. I'm not sure which loan I should _____________. apply apply to apply for

10. It's _____________ that you'll get rejected = You probably will not get rejected unlikely unlike

unliked

Business English Basics 9

1. Following months of ________________________ a successful strategy, we finally succeeded. trying to get developed trying to develop

try developing

2. With ________________________ ( = As for) Jim's project - let's leave that for the next meeting. requirement for renowned for regard to

3. We plan to implement this in the ________________________ months. ( = in the near future) arriving coming close

GENERAL BUSINESS TERMS

25

4. There's ________________________ ( = It's very clear) that he is unhappy working here. little doubt a little doubt

doubtful

5. He ________________________ two examples = He gave/showed two examples cited sided

said

6. If something is ________________________, it gives you the wrong idea. misled misunderstood misleading

7. Digital media is ________________________ changing the marketing world. ( = it is causing big changes) dramatically ecstatically

respectfully

8. We don't ________________________ this = We agree that this is true dispute dissolve

discuss

9. This product never saw the ________________________. ( = it was never launched/released)

daylight

GENERAL BUSINESS TERMS

26 light of day

moonlight

10. This serves to ________________________ us that we should never neglect our core customers. remember recall remind Business English Basics 10

1. We haven't been very ________________________ in promoting our products. ( = we haven't been promoting our products too much) action acting active

2. We're investing money in areas where we think we can grow and be ________________________. profit profitable

profiting

3. The inflation rate has been ________________________ higher by rising food and energy costs. put pushed

increased

4. The ________________________ results surprised everyone. better-than-expected GENERAL BUSINESS TERMS

27 better-than-thought

beat expectations

5. I expect this to become the next big ________________________. ( = popular thing) trendy trend-setter

trend

6. Job opportunities are sometimes referred to as \ prospects offers

training

7. We expect this to ________________________ ( = change) in the months ahead. turn around turn out

turn

8. They are the world's largest ________________________ of anti-inflammatory drugs. produce production producer

9. We used to make these cups from glass, but we ________________________ to plastic in 2004. swapped switched

altered

GENERAL BUSINESS TERMS

28

10. Our factory is inspected on a ________________________. ( = regularly) regular basis scheduled visit

time to time

General Vocabulary:

This exercise has a broad range of general business-related terms, ones that are often heard in an office setting. Although it's meant for ESL students, it'll be useful to anyone who wants to brush up on this terminology.

Business English Vocabulary 1

1. When someone \ have something to offer have nothing to offer

buy everyone lunch

2. HP is one of Dell's main _____________________. computers competitors

controllers

3. It's pretty hard to _____________________ against big, established companies. compete complete

competition

4. James _____________________ last year. changed his jobs changed jobs

made a change in jobs

GENERAL BUSINESS TERMS

29

5. It's not good to _____________________ yourself entirely to your career. denigrate detonate dedicate

6. Bill, I need your _____________________ on this. What do you think of this design? intake install input

7. I thought you _____________________ at the conference. did a really good job really did a job

did really a good job

8. We've got a meeting in 10 minutes. Do I have to _____________________? Yes, you do. atone attend

attain

9. I'd like you to do a little _____________________ on investment strategies. present presenting presentation

10. He's away ______________________ at the moment, but he'll be back in a second from his desk GENERAL BUSINESS TERMS

30

from a desk

from the desk

Business English Vocabulary 2

1. Let's have lunch on Thursday = Let's _____________________ on Thursday do lunch lunch

eat lunch

2. Generally speaking, a good manager ____________________ a smooth production process. ensures makes sure

is sure

3. Good time management skills are ____________________ ( = very important) to maintaining a smooth workflow. critique criticized critical

4. I was ____________________ with my other tasks to finish the report. very busy too busy

excessively busy

5. I'd like to have that by ____________________ Friday. end of the day

ending

GENERAL BUSINESS TERMS

31 end of day/ the end of

6. I'm happy to inform you that we've reached another ____________________ ( = significant completion point) with the successful completion of user testing. milestone mile

marker

7. After you visualize, and plan a project, you have to ____________________ it. implement imply

implode

8. In the modern business world, \ spending lots of money to do a task getting one person to do a task

getting two or more people to do a task

9. We need someone who knows how to use offline advertising to ____________________ ( = increase) online sales. gain drive

get

10. These issues could ______________________ ( = endanger) the completion of this project. jeopardy

jeopardize GENERAL BUSINESS TERMS

32 danger

Business English Vocabulary 3

1. When did John start working here? He was ___________________ about two months ago. hire taken

hired

2. I can't go out, - my ___________________ is almost over. break for lunch lunch break

food break

3. Many of our employees take their breaks in the ___________________. breakfast room lunch room/lunchroom

criticized

4. In many offices, employees work in little areas called ___________________. cubes/cubicles boxes

rooms

5. You are going to have to ___________________ your cubicle with two other employees. divide coexist in share

6. Everyone has to leave the office during a fire ___________________.

GENERAL BUSINESS TERMS

33 drill alarm

time

7. I can't ___________________ to my computer. log in log out

log

8. You don't have to wear a tie, but you have to wear a ___________________. shirt t-shirt dress shirt

9. Do you have a dress ___________________ at your company? requirement code

law

10. I'm going on a ___________________ next month. I'm meeting with one of our clients in Singapore. business trip work trip

business travel

Business English Vocabulary 4

1. John isn't a permanent employee, he's a ___________________.

temp GENERAL BUSINESS TERMS

34 part-time

hired

2. ___________________ means that someone gets hired as a temporary employee, and then, in time has the chance to become a permanent employee. Temp-to-full Temp-to-hire

Temp-to-non-temp

3. I can't make it at 2, I have an important meeting ___________________ ( = I have to attend). I can't get out I can't get out from I can't get out of

4. Make sure you ___________________ with Nancy about what we all discussed this morning. follow-up follow

converse

5. He's got a really positive ___________________. He'll do well at this company. look sense attitude

6. A \ let his employees work independently

have total control over everything GENERAL BUSINESS TERMS

35

bankrupt the company s/he works for

7. You should always wear your name ________________. ( = a little piece of paper with your name that you wear on your shirt) when you're at work. tag paper

patch

8. Tony, can you ___________________ these documents and see if there's anything about the Dell contract? observe look through

look

9. Can we meet at 2:00 PM? Let me check my ___________________. requirement schedule

clock

10. Marketing really dropped the ___________________ on this one. ( = really made a big mistake) balls bowl ball Business English Vocabulary 5

1. I don't think I can take on any more projects right now - I have too much __________________________ already. on my platter on my plate GENERAL BUSINESS TERMS

36 on my mind

2. The USA is one of the easiest places in the world to __________________________. make a business commence a business

start a business

3. I'm swamped = I'm __________________________ drowning really busy

confused

4. What's on the __________________________ today? ( = What's the plan for today?/ What do we have to do today?) agenda board

notebook

5. I'm a little confused about the timeline. Could you __________________________ ( = explain it to me) again? walk me through it walk me through

converse with me

6. What's a \ A thin watch A deadline A schedule GENERAL BUSINESS TERMS

37

7. I have a couple of things I'd like to talk about - I'm going to go through them __________________________. ( = one by one) in order by order

orderly

8. Tony is always ______________________ the meeting up by being late. holding keeping

bringing

9. I have a terrible boss! He never gives me any positive __________________________ on the work I do. (= he never complements my work) feed feedback

opinions

10. A business' \from its competitors, and is difficult for these competitors to ___________________. ( = copy) initiate inform

imitate Business English Vocabulary 6

1. When you're \ exchanging ideas agreeing with someone else's idea playing basketball

GENERAL BUSINESS TERMS

38 2. Lisa, the marketing rep, and I have been playing __________________________ this whole week. (We've been trying to reach each other, but we keep getting each other's voice mail) phone games phone tag

phone contact

3. What's \ A messaging service - it allows you to leave messages when you call someone A voice attachment on an email

A package with a CD

4. I think David should do the presentation. Database architecture is his __________________________. topic of expertise area of expertise

field of knowledge

5. You report is a little short. I think you have to __________________________ a little more. learn the topic research the substance

research the topic

6. Our meetings are always quite informal, but we get __________________________. much done much finished

a lot done

7. Where can I get a pen?

GENERAL BUSINESS TERMS

39 In the supply room In the lunch room

In the conference room

8. What's a binder? paper

a notebook cover (often with rings or clamps for holding sheets)

a mean boss

9. I've always wanted to ___________________ a career in oceanography. persuade perhaps pursue

10. No, I'm sorry I'm not ___________________ with that service. ( = I haven't heard about that service) familiar famous

famished

Business English Vocabulary 7

1. A company's _____________________ is the supply of goods it has for sale. inventory invention

inversion

2. A good CEO will make _____________________ business decisions.

sound GENERAL BUSINESS TERMS

40

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