Business idioms and general meaning
When dealing with idioms – words – sentences within an area of business or expertise it is important to understand that the word
(if taken out of the context) can have a completely different meaning on its own, or when used in another situation.
Business idioms and their meanings
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Tendered their resignation: Giving their job notice; resigning from their job.
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Covenant amendment: A change or addition to a binding agreement or contract.
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Covenant headroom: Leverage or flexibility to work within the terms of a contract.
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Commenced: (Past tense) Began or started.
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Strengthen: To make someone or something stronger.
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Equity stake: Ownership of stocks or shares in a company by a shareholder.
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Highest caliber candidates: The best candidates for a job; the top of the top.
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Revolving credit: An arrangement between a bank and business that allows for borrowing money repeatedly within a set limit.
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Revolving: Rotating or spinning; used in business to describe ongoing or repeated actions.
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Speciality: A product, skill, or food particularly well-suited to an individual, business, or region.
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Break-even point: The stage at which income equals expenses, with no profit or loss.
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Blue ocean strategy: Creating an entirely new market space to avoid competition.
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Synergy: The combined effect of a team or collaboration that is greater than the sum of its parts.
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Burn rate: The speed at which a company spends money, often used for startups.
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Margin call: A demand by a broker for an investor to deposit additional money to cover potential losses.
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Upsell: Persuading a customer to purchase a more expensive item or add-on.
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Downsize: Reducing the size or scope of a business, often through layoffs.
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Touch base: To make brief contact or reconnect about a specific issue.
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Leverage: Using borrowed capital or resources to increase potential returns.
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Streamline: Improving efficiency by simplifying processes.
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Deliverables: Specific items or results promised as part of a project.
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Bottleneck: A point of congestion or delay in a process.
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Pivot: Making a significant change in business strategy.
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Scalability: The capacity to grow or expand while maintaining performance.
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Turnkey solution: A ready-to-use product or service requiring no additional work.
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Cost-benefit analysis: Evaluating the pros and cons of a business decision in monetary terms.
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Clawback: The recovery of money or benefits already paid, often as a penalty.
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Benchmarking: Comparing your performance against industry standards or competitors.
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Vertical integration: A company’s ownership of multiple steps in its supply chain.
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Runway: The length of time a company can operate with its current cash flow.
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Connect the dots/Joining the dots: bringing together information from different places:
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Womb: A place where something is generated
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Detach: Separate or disconnected, in particular.
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Differentiating: Show the difference between someone or something.
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Attain: Succeed in achieving.
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Fruition: The point at which a plan or project is realized.
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Niche: A comfortable or suitable position in life or employment.
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Cheat Sheet: A cheat sheet (also cheat sheet) or crib sheet is a set of notes used for quick reference.
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Challenging: Something that needs great mental or physical effort in order to be done successfully.
- Worth it: Sufficiently good, enjoyable, or successful to repay any effort, trouble, or expense.
General idioms and their meanings
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Even though: Regardless; all the same.
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Aim: To have the intention of achieving; a purpose or desired outcome.
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Merely: Just; only.
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Shrinking: Becoming or making smaller in size.
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Moreover: Besides; furthermore; also; additionally.
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Achieve: Successfully bringing about or reaching something.
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Be dealt with: Taking measures to address a problem or situation.
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Weaknesses: The state or condition of lacking strength.
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Frightening: Making someone afraid or anxious; terrifying.
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Immense: Extremely large or great, especially in scale or degree.
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Trait: A distinguishing quality or characteristic of a person.
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Myth: A traditional story, often involving legends or supernatural elements.
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Compound: Something composed of two or more separate elements.
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Connect the dots: Bringing together information from different places.
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Womb: A place where something is generated or begins.
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Detach: Separate or disconnect.
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Differentiating: Showing or identifying differences between people or things.
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Attain: Succeed in achieving something.
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Fruition: The point at which a plan or project is realized.
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Niche: A comfortable or suitable position in life or work.
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Cheat sheet: A set of notes used for quick reference.
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Challenging: Something that requires great mental or physical effort to accomplish.
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Worth it: Sufficiently good or successful to repay effort or expense.
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Rule of thumb: A general principle based on experience rather than exact calculation.
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Bite the bullet: To endure a difficult or unpleasant situation.
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Piece of cake: Something very easy to do.
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Through thick and thin: Supporting someone through all circumstances.
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Hit the nail on the head: To describe or explain something precisely.
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Under the weather: Feeling ill or unwell.
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Burn the midnight oil: Working late into the night.
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The ball is in your court: It’s your turn to take action or make a decision.
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Keep your chin up: Stay optimistic in a difficult situation.
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Actions speak louder than words: What you do is more important than what you say.
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Cry over spilled milk: To regret something that cannot be changed.
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A blessing in disguise: Something that seems bad but turns out to be good.
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Pull yourself together: To calm down and regain control of emotions.
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Go the extra mile: To do more than what is expected.
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Let the cat out of the bag: To reveal a secret.
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Throw in the towel: To give up on something.
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A penny for your thoughts: Asking someone to share what they are thinking.
Idioms are like metaphors, they do not make sense unless you already know them
and the context in which they are used