Anaïs Cai
English business vocabulary in use
Unit 1-12
Word Definition
In work Have a job
Out of work Without a job
Full-time-job A normal working week between 30-40
hours a week.
Part-time-job Is for less time than that. Less than 40 hours
a week.
Permanent job Does not finishes after a fixed period of
time
Temporary job Finished after a fixed period of time
Swipe card A card to get into the office
Flexitime (flextime) Work whenever you want, with certain
limits.
Clock on Register one’s arrival at work.
Clock off To depart from work. Register what time
you leave.
Overtime Work more hours than usual for more
money
commute Travel to work every day
commuters People who travel to work
teleworking Working from home and using the
computer and phone to communicate
Recruitment (hiring) The process of finding people for a
particular job
Head-hunters To find people for very important jobs and
to persuade them to leave the organization
they already work for.
CV (curriculum vitae) A document describing your education,
qualifications and previous jobs.
Covering letter A letter explaining why you want the job
and why you are the right person for it.
Selection process The methods that a company used to
recruit people
Psychometric tests To asses a person’s intelligence and
personality.
Referees Previous employers, teachers and so on
that the candidate have named in their
application.
Turn It down To not accept the job.
In house training Courses within the company
Skill A particular ability to do something well,
especially because you have learned and
practised it.
,Anaïs Cai
Highly skilled Great knowledge and experience e.g. car
designer.
Skilled Experience in work e.g. car production
manager.
Semi-skilled Have some experience but not enough to
do specialized work e.g. taxi driver.
Unskilled Having no experience at all in work e.g. car
cleaner
Team players People who work well with other people
Minimum wage The lowest amount allowed by the law
tips Money that customers leave in addition to
the bill.
Commission A percentage on everything you sell
Health plan Pay the costs of medical treatment if you
get ill
pension Money that you get regularly after you
stopped working
Remuneration package Your wages or salary
Compensation package the total payment and benefits that an
employee receives for doing their job
Severance package Is pay and benefits that employees may be
entitled to receive when they leave
employment at a company unwilfully
Fat cats Someone who has a lot of money, especially
someone in charge of a company.
Open plan offices Large areas where many people work.
admin The ordinary work supporting a company’s
activities.
Labour costs What companies have to pay for labour,
rather than materials
Labour dispute A disagreement between management and
labour
Labour leader Someone in charge of an organization.
Labour relations The relationship between management and
employees in general
Labour shortage A period when there are not enough people
available to work
Labour unrest A period of disagreement between
management and employees.
Strike – stoppage- walk out Workers stop working for a time
Go-slow Workers continue to work, but more slowly
than usual.
Overtime ban Workers refuse to work more than the
normal number of hours.
,Anaïs Cai
retirement The age at which people retire-end their
working life.
freelancers Independent people who work for several
different companies
Job insecurity The feeling you might not be in the job for
long
Resign- hand in your notice When you want to leave a company
Dismissed- terminated- fired If you do something wrong and are forced
to leave a company
Laid off-made redundant- offered early When you’ve done nothing wrong.
retirement
Sex discrimination When a woman is unfairly treated because
she is a woman
Glass ceiling Something that prevents them from getting
further than a particular level
Racial discrimination When someone is unfairly treated because
of their race.
Sexual harassment When a employee behaves sexually
towards another in a way that they find
unwelcome and unacceptable.
Businessman/woman/business person Someone who works in their own business
or as a manger in an organization
entrepreneur Someone who starts or found their own
company
founder Someone who starts a company
Business empire A large group of companies mainly owned
by one person or by a family
Business leaders Successful businesspeople, especially heads
of large organizations
Magnates- moguls- tycoons People in charge of big business empires.
business Is the activity of producing, buying and
selling goods and services.
A business company/firm Is an organization that sells goods or
services.
Corporate culture The way a company’s employees think and
act.
Corporate ladder The different levels of management in a
company.
Corporate headquarters A company’s main office.
Corporate logo A symbol used by a company on its
products , advertising, etc.
Corporate image All the ideas, opinions, etc. that people
have about a company.
Corporate profits The money made by companies.
, Anaïs Cai
Self-employment Person working on their own, through the
small or medium enterprise (SME)
corporation A large company
commercial Describes money-making business activities
for example: commercial airline,
commercial artist, commercial disaster.
nationalized Entirely state-owned
bureaucracy The system for running government
departments, with its rigid rules and slow
decisions
Free private enterprise Business activity owned by individuals
rather than the state
Enterprise culture When people are encouraged to make
money through their own activities and not
rely on the government
Enterprise economy An economy where there is an enterprise
culture
Enterprise zone Part of a country where business is
encouraged because there are less strict
laws, lower taxes, etc.
Goes bankrupts Runs out of money
members People buying insurance with the company
Non-profit organizations Organizations with ‘social’ aims such as
helping those who are sick or poor or
encouraging artistic activity
Unit 13-26
Word Definition
Industry Is the production of materials and goods
Market research Finding out what people really want.
In person survey Are expensive & show samples of new
products
Telephone survey Is not expensive but people do not like to
be called up.
Mail surveys Have a low response rates because few
people send the survey back.
Online surveys Are simple and inexpensive but usually
unpredictable as there is no control over
the pool or selection of people that take
part.
Focus groups Is a group interview involving a small
number of similar people. It usually last
about 1-2 hours.
English business vocabulary in use
Unit 1-12
Word Definition
In work Have a job
Out of work Without a job
Full-time-job A normal working week between 30-40
hours a week.
Part-time-job Is for less time than that. Less than 40 hours
a week.
Permanent job Does not finishes after a fixed period of
time
Temporary job Finished after a fixed period of time
Swipe card A card to get into the office
Flexitime (flextime) Work whenever you want, with certain
limits.
Clock on Register one’s arrival at work.
Clock off To depart from work. Register what time
you leave.
Overtime Work more hours than usual for more
money
commute Travel to work every day
commuters People who travel to work
teleworking Working from home and using the
computer and phone to communicate
Recruitment (hiring) The process of finding people for a
particular job
Head-hunters To find people for very important jobs and
to persuade them to leave the organization
they already work for.
CV (curriculum vitae) A document describing your education,
qualifications and previous jobs.
Covering letter A letter explaining why you want the job
and why you are the right person for it.
Selection process The methods that a company used to
recruit people
Psychometric tests To asses a person’s intelligence and
personality.
Referees Previous employers, teachers and so on
that the candidate have named in their
application.
Turn It down To not accept the job.
In house training Courses within the company
Skill A particular ability to do something well,
especially because you have learned and
practised it.
,Anaïs Cai
Highly skilled Great knowledge and experience e.g. car
designer.
Skilled Experience in work e.g. car production
manager.
Semi-skilled Have some experience but not enough to
do specialized work e.g. taxi driver.
Unskilled Having no experience at all in work e.g. car
cleaner
Team players People who work well with other people
Minimum wage The lowest amount allowed by the law
tips Money that customers leave in addition to
the bill.
Commission A percentage on everything you sell
Health plan Pay the costs of medical treatment if you
get ill
pension Money that you get regularly after you
stopped working
Remuneration package Your wages or salary
Compensation package the total payment and benefits that an
employee receives for doing their job
Severance package Is pay and benefits that employees may be
entitled to receive when they leave
employment at a company unwilfully
Fat cats Someone who has a lot of money, especially
someone in charge of a company.
Open plan offices Large areas where many people work.
admin The ordinary work supporting a company’s
activities.
Labour costs What companies have to pay for labour,
rather than materials
Labour dispute A disagreement between management and
labour
Labour leader Someone in charge of an organization.
Labour relations The relationship between management and
employees in general
Labour shortage A period when there are not enough people
available to work
Labour unrest A period of disagreement between
management and employees.
Strike – stoppage- walk out Workers stop working for a time
Go-slow Workers continue to work, but more slowly
than usual.
Overtime ban Workers refuse to work more than the
normal number of hours.
,Anaïs Cai
retirement The age at which people retire-end their
working life.
freelancers Independent people who work for several
different companies
Job insecurity The feeling you might not be in the job for
long
Resign- hand in your notice When you want to leave a company
Dismissed- terminated- fired If you do something wrong and are forced
to leave a company
Laid off-made redundant- offered early When you’ve done nothing wrong.
retirement
Sex discrimination When a woman is unfairly treated because
she is a woman
Glass ceiling Something that prevents them from getting
further than a particular level
Racial discrimination When someone is unfairly treated because
of their race.
Sexual harassment When a employee behaves sexually
towards another in a way that they find
unwelcome and unacceptable.
Businessman/woman/business person Someone who works in their own business
or as a manger in an organization
entrepreneur Someone who starts or found their own
company
founder Someone who starts a company
Business empire A large group of companies mainly owned
by one person or by a family
Business leaders Successful businesspeople, especially heads
of large organizations
Magnates- moguls- tycoons People in charge of big business empires.
business Is the activity of producing, buying and
selling goods and services.
A business company/firm Is an organization that sells goods or
services.
Corporate culture The way a company’s employees think and
act.
Corporate ladder The different levels of management in a
company.
Corporate headquarters A company’s main office.
Corporate logo A symbol used by a company on its
products , advertising, etc.
Corporate image All the ideas, opinions, etc. that people
have about a company.
Corporate profits The money made by companies.
, Anaïs Cai
Self-employment Person working on their own, through the
small or medium enterprise (SME)
corporation A large company
commercial Describes money-making business activities
for example: commercial airline,
commercial artist, commercial disaster.
nationalized Entirely state-owned
bureaucracy The system for running government
departments, with its rigid rules and slow
decisions
Free private enterprise Business activity owned by individuals
rather than the state
Enterprise culture When people are encouraged to make
money through their own activities and not
rely on the government
Enterprise economy An economy where there is an enterprise
culture
Enterprise zone Part of a country where business is
encouraged because there are less strict
laws, lower taxes, etc.
Goes bankrupts Runs out of money
members People buying insurance with the company
Non-profit organizations Organizations with ‘social’ aims such as
helping those who are sick or poor or
encouraging artistic activity
Unit 13-26
Word Definition
Industry Is the production of materials and goods
Market research Finding out what people really want.
In person survey Are expensive & show samples of new
products
Telephone survey Is not expensive but people do not like to
be called up.
Mail surveys Have a low response rates because few
people send the survey back.
Online surveys Are simple and inexpensive but usually
unpredictable as there is no control over
the pool or selection of people that take
part.
Focus groups Is a group interview involving a small
number of similar people. It usually last
about 1-2 hours.
