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Business idioms and general meaning

BringTeacher on Sun, 12 Jan, 2025

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.

Two business professionals discussing English business idioms and words in a modern office setting with city skyline views

Business idioms and their meanings

  1. Tendered their resignation: Giving their job notice; resigning from their job.

  2. Covenant amendment: A change or addition to a binding agreement or contract.

  3. Covenant headroom: Leverage or flexibility to work within the terms of a contract.

  4. Commenced: (Past tense) Began or started.

  5. Strengthen: To make someone or something stronger.

  6. Equity stake: Ownership of stocks or shares in a company by a shareholder.

  7. Highest caliber candidates: The best candidates for a job; the top of the top.

  8. Revolving credit: An arrangement between a bank and business that allows for borrowing money repeatedly within a set limit.

  9. Revolving: Rotating or spinning; used in business to describe ongoing or repeated actions.

  10. Speciality: A product, skill, or food particularly well-suited to an individual, business, or region.

  11. Break-even point: The stage at which income equals expenses, with no profit or loss.

  12. Blue ocean strategy: Creating an entirely new market space to avoid competition.

  13. Synergy: The combined effect of a team or collaboration that is greater than the sum of its parts.

  14. Burn rate: The speed at which a company spends money, often used for startups.

  15. Margin call: A demand by a broker for an investor to deposit additional money to cover potential losses.

  16. Upsell: Persuading a customer to purchase a more expensive item or add-on.

  17. Downsize: Reducing the size or scope of a business, often through layoffs.

  18. Touch base: To make brief contact or reconnect about a specific issue.

  19. Leverage: Using borrowed capital or resources to increase potential returns.

  20. Streamline: Improving efficiency by simplifying processes.

  21. Deliverables: Specific items or results promised as part of a project.

  22. Bottleneck: A point of congestion or delay in a process.

  23. Pivot: Making a significant change in business strategy.

  24. Scalability: The capacity to grow or expand while maintaining performance.

  25. Turnkey solution: A ready-to-use product or service requiring no additional work.

  26. Cost-benefit analysis: Evaluating the pros and cons of a business decision in monetary terms.

  27. Clawback: The recovery of money or benefits already paid, often as a penalty.

  28. Benchmarking: Comparing your performance against industry standards or competitors.

  29. Vertical integration: A company’s ownership of multiple steps in its supply chain.

  30. Runway: The length of time a company can operate with its current cash flow.

  31.  Connect the dots/Joining the dots: bringing together information from different places:

  32. Womb: A place where something is generated

  33. Detach: Separate or disconnected, in particular.

  34. Differentiating: Show the difference between someone or something.

  35. Attain: Succeed in achieving.

  36. Fruition: The point at which a plan or project is realized.

  37. Niche: A comfortable or suitable position in life or employment.

  38. Cheat Sheet: A cheat sheet (also cheat sheet) or crib sheet is a set of notes used for quick reference.

  39. Challenging: Something that needs great mental or physical effort in order to be done successfully.

  40. Worth it: Sufficiently good, enjoyable, or successful to repay any effort, trouble, or expense.

General idioms and their meanings

Group of people sitting in a cozy café setting, discussing general language words and phrases in everyday situations

  1. Even though: Regardless; all the same.

  2. Aim: To have the intention of achieving; a purpose or desired outcome.

  3. Merely: Just; only.

  4. Shrinking: Becoming or making smaller in size.

  5. Moreover: Besides; furthermore; also; additionally.

  6. Achieve: Successfully bringing about or reaching something.

  7. Be dealt with: Taking measures to address a problem or situation.

  8. Weaknesses: The state or condition of lacking strength.

  9. Frightening: Making someone afraid or anxious; terrifying.

  10. Immense: Extremely large or great, especially in scale or degree.

  11. Trait: A distinguishing quality or characteristic of a person.

  12. Myth: A traditional story, often involving legends or supernatural elements.

  13. Compound: Something composed of two or more separate elements.

  14. Connect the dots: Bringing together information from different places.

  15. Womb: A place where something is generated or begins.

  16. Detach: Separate or disconnect.

  17. Differentiating: Showing or identifying differences between people or things.

  18. Attain: Succeed in achieving something.

  19. Fruition: The point at which a plan or project is realized.

  20. Niche: A comfortable or suitable position in life or work.

  21. Cheat sheet: A set of notes used for quick reference.

  22. Challenging: Something that requires great mental or physical effort to accomplish.

  23. Worth it: Sufficiently good or successful to repay effort or expense.

  24. Rule of thumb: A general principle based on experience rather than exact calculation.

  25. Bite the bullet: To endure a difficult or unpleasant situation.

  26. Piece of cake: Something very easy to do.

  27. Through thick and thin: Supporting someone through all circumstances.

  28. Hit the nail on the head: To describe or explain something precisely.

  29. Under the weather: Feeling ill or unwell.

  30. Burn the midnight oil: Working late into the night.

  31. The ball is in your court: It’s your turn to take action or make a decision.

  32. Keep your chin up: Stay optimistic in a difficult situation.

  33. Actions speak louder than words: What you do is more important than what you say.

  34. Cry over spilled milk: To regret something that cannot be changed.

  35. A blessing in disguise: Something that seems bad but turns out to be good.

  36. Pull yourself together: To calm down and regain control of emotions.

  37. Go the extra mile: To do more than what is expected.

  38. Let the cat out of the bag: To reveal a secret.

  39. Throw in the towel: To give up on something.

  40. 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