English for Business & Management
List of Business English Idioms

across the board

MEANING: including everyone or everything

EXAMPLE:The computer company decided to give the workers an across-the-board increase in their salary.

at a loss

MEANING: sell something and lose money

EXAMPLE:We were forced to sell the computers at a big loss.

bail a company out

MEANING: help or rescue a company with financial problems.

EXAMPLE:The government decided to bail out the failing bank in order to maintain stability in the economy.

ball park figure/estimate

MEANING: a rough estimate or figure

EXAMPLE:The contractor gave us a ball park figure for the cost of repairing the new building. bang for the buck

MEANING: value for the money spent

EXAMPLE:We were able to get a big bang for our buck when we advertised on the Internet. banker's hours

MEANING: short work hours

EXAMPLE:My sister's husband owns his own company and is able to work banker's hours with his large staff.

Bean-counter

MEANING: an accountant

EXAMPLE:We asked the bean-counters to look over the figures in the new budget. big gun/cheese/wheel/wig

MEANING: an important person, a leader

EXAMPLE:The new director was a big wheel in his previous company but is not so important now.

bottom fall out/drop out

MEANING: to fall below an earlier lowest price

EXAMPLE:When the bottom fell out of the coffee market many companies had to stop doing business.

bottom line

MEANING: the total, the final figure on a balance sheet

EXAMPLE:When they examined the bottom line of the company they decided not to invest in it. bottom out

MEANING: reach the lowest or worst point of something

EXAMPLE:The value of the stock has begun to bottom out and should soon begin to increase in value.

boys/men in the backroom

MEANING: a group of men making decisions behind the scenes

EXAMPLE:The boys in the backroom told us that we must close down the factory as soon as possible.

break even

MEANING: have expenses equal to profits

EXAMPLE:After only three months the company was able to break even and start making profits.

budget squeeze/crunch

MEANING: a situation where there is not enough money in the budget

EXAMPLE:We have been going through a severe budget squeeze at our company and must begin to stop spending money in a wasteful manner.

buy off

MEANING: use a gift or money to divert someone from their duty or purpose

EXAMPLE:The land developer tried to buy off the politician but he was not successful.

buy out

MEANING: buy the ownership or a decisive share of something

EXAMPLE:The company was bought out by another large company in the textile industry.

by a long shot

MEANING: by a big difference, by far

EXAMPLE:The soap company was able to beat out the bids of the other companies by a long shot.

calculated risk

MEANING: an action that may fail but has a good chance to succeed

EXAMPLE:They took a calculated risk when they introduced the new computer screen onto the market.

captain of industry

MEANING: a top corporation officer

EXAMPLE:The president of our company was a captain of industry and after he retired he was appointed to many government boards.

carry over

MEANING: save for another time

EXAMPLE:We were forced to carry over the sale to the Monday after the national holiday.

carry over

MEANING: transfer (a figure) from one column or book to another

EXAMPLE:Our company is still facing difficult times and we will have to carry over last year's losses to this year.

carry the day

MEANING: win completely

EXAMPLE:The president's new idea carried the day and everyone supported him energetically.

carry through

MEANING: put into action

EXAMPLE:The steel company carried through their plan to restructure all of their operations.

close out

MEANING: sell the whole of something, sell all the goods
EXAMPLE:They decided to close out the store and sell all of the remaining stock very cheap.

close the books

MEANING: stop taking orders, end a bookkeeping period

EXAMPLE:They usually close the books at the end of February every year.

cold call

MEANING: call a potential customer from a list of persons one has never seen

EXAMPLE:When he first started to work at his company he was asked to make cold calls using the telephone book.

come on strong

MEANING: overwhelm with excessively strong language or personality

EXAMPLE:The salesman came on too strong at the meeting and angered the other members of the team.

company man

MEANING: a person who always works hard and agrees with his employees

EXAMPLE:My father was a true company man and was always putting in an extra effort for his company.

company town

MEANING: a town dominated by one industry or company

EXAMPLE:When the coal mine closed down the company town faced severe economic times.

cut back

MEANING: use fewer or use less

EXAMPLE:The company has been cutting back on entertainment expenses for over a year now.

cut corners

MEANING: economize

EXAMPLE:We have been forced to economize on stationary expenses during these severe economic times.

cut off

MEANING: interrupt or stop

EXAMPLE:The speech of the president was cut off when the electricity went off in the building.

cut one's losses

MEANING: do something to stop losing money or something

EXAMPLE:We should sell the old machinery as soon as possible and try and cut our losses.

deliver the goods

MEANING: succeed in doing well what is expected

EXAMPLE:The new owner of the company is not very popular but he is able to deliver the goods.

double-check

MEANING: check something again to confirm

EXAMPLE:We were unable to double-check the costs of the new products before the price list was printed.

face value

MEANING: the official worth or trust of something

EXAMPLE:Although the face value of the postage stamp was very low it sold at the auction for much money.

fair play

MEANING: justice, equal and right action to someone

EXAMPLE:The company is very good to work for as they always use fair play when they are bargaining with their employees.

figure out
MEANING: find an answer by thinking about something

EXAMPLE:Everyone in our company is trying to figure out what our boss is going to do with the new equipment.

fill the bill

MEANING: be just what is needed

EXAMPLE:That new machine should fill the bill as to what we need to finish the job.

finger in the pie

MEANING: involved in what is happening, receiving money for something

EXAMPLE:The new manager has his finger in the pie in all aspects of our company's business.

gain ground

MEANING: go forward, make progress

EXAMPLE:Our company has been gaining ground in our attempt to be the best in the industry.

get a break

MEANING: get an opportunity or good deal

EXAMPLE:We were able to get a break on the price of the paint and saved a lot of money.

get off the ground

MEANING: make a successful beginning, go ahead

EXAMPLE:We were unable to get the new product off the ground and will have to wait until next year.

give someone the green light

MEANING: give permission to go ahead with a project

EXAMPLE:Our boss gave us the green light to begin work on the new sales promotion.

go public

MEANING: sell shares of a privately owned company to the public

EXAMPLE:The stock of the Internet company rose very quickly when they went public.

go through with

MEANING: finish, do as planned or agreed

EXAMPLE:We have decided not to go through with our plans to launch the new product until we have solved all of its problems.

hard sell

MEANING: sell something by being very aggressive

EXAMPLE:The car salesman gave us a hard sell so we decided to go to another dealer.

heads will roll

MEANING: someone will be punished

EXAMPLE:Heads will roll when our boss learns about the money that we have lost recently.

in black and white

MEANING: in writing

EXAMPLE:The company refused to deal with the customer's complaints until they saw them in black and white.

in charge of

MEANING: in control of, responsible for

EXAMPLE:My sister has been in charge of buying supplies at her company for many years.

in short supply

MEANING: not enough, in less than the amount or number needed

EXAMPLE:Experienced computer programmers are in short supply at our company.

in stock

MEANING: have something ready to sell or use

EXAMPLE:They didn't have any computer printer ribbons in stock at the store.

in the black

MEANING: successful or making money

EXAMPLE:The new company has been in the black for over a year now.

in the long run

MEANING: in the final result

EXAMPLE:The company has been losing money recently but in the long run they should do very well.

in the market for

MEANING: ready to buy something

EXAMPLE:We have been in the market for a new computer for a long time but still we haven't bought one.

in the red

MEANING: losing money, unprofitable

EXAMPLE:The company began to go into the red when the price of oil began to rise rapidly.

in the works

MEANING: in preparation, being planned or worked on

EXAMPLE:The camera company has a new automatic camera in the works but nobody knows about it yet.

jack up

MEANING: make a price higher

EXAMPLE:The steel companies decided to jack up the price of steel at the beginning of the year.

keep books

MEANING: keep records of money gained and spent

EXAMPLE:The new assistant to the sales manager has no experience keeping books and has made many mistakes.

keep track of

MEANING: keep a count or record, stay informed

EXAMPLE:They have been making a great effort to keep track of the number of visitors to their store.

kickback

MEANING: money paid illegally for favourable treatment

EXAMPLE:The construction company was taken to court for giving kickbacks to the local politicians.

make a go of

MEANING: produce good results, succeed

EXAMPLE:Although he works very hard in his small business he has been unable to make a go of it and may soon go out of business.

mean business

MEANING: be serious

EXAMPLE:Our boss means business when he tells everyone to try and work harder.

number-cruncher

MEANING: an accountant, someone who works with numbers

EXAMPLE:Our president is a good number-cruncher and understands about the finances of our company.

on hand

MEANING: in one's possession, ready\

EXAMPLE:We didn't have any supplies on hand and were unable to finish the job.

(buy) on credit

MEANING: buy something without paying cash

EXAMPLE:My friend had no money so he decided to buy the furniture on credit.

on the block

MEANING: for sale

EXAMPLE:As soon as they purchased the company they began to put some of the equipment on the block.
pay off

MEANING: make a profit, be successful

EXAMPLE:The furniture manufacturer was unable to pay off their loan and had to go out of business.

piece/slice of the action

MEANING: a share in the activity or the profits of something

EXAMPLE:The inventor wanted a large piece of the action of the profits from the new computer that he had invented.

red ink

MEANING: debt (red ink on a financial statement)

EXAMPLE:The automobile company has been drowning in red ink since the US dollar began to rise.

run short

MEANING: not have enough in quantity

EXAMPLE:They ran short of gasoline at the gas station and had to close early.

saddled with debt

MEANING: burdened with debt

EXAMPLE:Our sister company is saddled with a great amount of debt and should be sold as soon as possible.

sell like hotcakes

MEANING: sell very quickly

EXAMPLE:The children's toys were selling like hotcakes at the end of the year.

sell out

MEANING: sell all of a product

EXAMPLE:Every year at least one company sells out all of their products which frustrates many customers.

strike while the iron is hot

MEANING: take advantage of an opportunity

EXAMPLE:We decided to strike while the iron was hot and began to market the product around the time of the Olympics.

sweetheart deal

MEANING: a deal made between friends so that both may make a big profit

EXAMPLE:We were able to make a sweetheart deal with our landlord and got the rent greatly reduced.

take a nosedive

MEANING: collapse, fail, decrease in value

EXAMPLE:The stock market took a nosedive when the earnings of the oil company began to weaken.

take on

MEANING: to give a job to or hire someone

EXAMPLE:The company took on many new workers during the busy holiday season.

take over

MEANING: take control or possession of something, take charge or responsibility

EXAMPLE:The government decided to take over the bank after it declared bankruptcy.

take public

MEANING: sell shares in a company to the general public

EXAMPLE:We decided it was necessary to take our company public in order to raise money to expand our facilities.

take stock

MEANING: count the items of merchandise or supplies in stock, take inventory

EXAMPLE:The department store closes down for 3 days every March in order to take stock.

throw cold water on

MEANING: discourage, forbid

EXAMPLE:The managers threw cold water on the plans to close down the factory for one week in August.

throw money at something

MEANING: try to solve a problem by spending money on it

EXAMPLE:The president of our company is willing to throw a lot of money at the problem in the hope of solving it.

tight spot

MEANING: a difficult situation

EXAMPLE:The computer manufacturing company has been in a tight spot since the shortage of computer chips appeared.

turn over

MEANING: to buy and then sell something to customers

EXAMPLE:The turn-over at that discount store is very rapid.

work out

MEANING: plan, developEXAMPLE:I spent the weekend trying to work out the budget estimates for next year.

write off

MEANING: remove from a business record, cancel a debt

EXAMPLE:It was impossible for the bank to collect the money so they were forced to write off the loan.