Business English Essentials

Intermediate • 75 words • ~35 minutes

Professional vocabulary is essential for career advancement. These words and phrases are commonly used in business meetings, presentations, emails, and negotiations. Click each card to reveal the full definition and a professional context example.

Meetings & Communication

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Agenda

noun

Agenda — a list of items to be discussed at a formal meeting; a plan or list of matters to be addressed.

"Please review the meeting agenda before we begin — we have five items to cover this afternoon."

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Consensus

noun

Consensus — a general agreement among a group of people; the collective opinion reached by a group as a whole.

"After a lengthy discussion, the board reached a consensus on the new marketing strategy."

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Delegate

verb / noun

Delegate — (v.) to entrust a task or responsibility to another person; (n.) a person sent to represent others.

"Effective managers know how to delegate tasks to team members based on their strengths."

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Facilitate

verb

Facilitate — to make an action or process easier; to help bring about a result by providing assistance.

"She will facilitate the workshop, ensuring all participants have a chance to share their ideas."

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Leverage

noun / verb

Leverage — (n.) the power to influence a situation; (v.) to use something to maximum advantage.

"We need to leverage our existing partnerships to expand into new markets."

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Stakeholder

noun

Stakeholder — a person or group with an interest or concern in a business or project; anyone affected by the organization's actions.

"All stakeholders must be consulted before we proceed with the restructuring plan."

Finance & Strategy

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Revenue

noun

Revenue — the total income generated by a business from its normal operations, typically from the sale of goods and services.

"The company's annual revenue exceeded $50 million for the first time this fiscal year."

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ROI

noun (acronym)

ROI (Return on Investment) — a performance measure used to evaluate the efficiency of an investment; the ratio of net profit to cost of investment.

"The marketing campaign delivered a 340% ROI, making it our most successful initiative this quarter."

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Scalable

adjective

Scalable — able to be changed in size or scale; describing a business model or system that can grow without being hampered by its structure.

"We need a scalable solution that can handle ten thousand users today and ten million tomorrow."

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Benchmark

noun / verb

Benchmark — (n.) a standard or point of reference against which things may be compared; (v.) to evaluate by comparison with a standard.

"We benchmark our customer satisfaction scores against the industry average to identify areas for improvement."

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Synergy

noun

Synergy — the interaction of two or more agents to produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects.

"The merger created synergy between the two companies, reducing costs while increasing market reach."

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Acquisition

noun

Acquisition — the purchase of one company by another; the act of obtaining or gaining possession of something.

"The acquisition of the startup gave us access to cutting-edge AI technology and a talented engineering team."

Negotiation & Agreements

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Compromise

noun / verb

Compromise — an agreement reached by each side making concessions; to settle a dispute by mutual concession.

"Both parties had to compromise on the delivery timeline to reach a deal that satisfied everyone."

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Proposal

noun

Proposal — a plan or suggestion put forward for consideration by others; a formal document outlining a proposed course of action.

"The vendor submitted a detailed proposal outlining costs, timelines, and deliverables for the project."

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Liability

noun

Liability — the state of being legally responsible for something; a thing for which someone is responsible, especially a debt or financial obligation.

"The contract clearly defines each party's liability in the event of a breach or unforeseen circumstances."

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Negotiate

verb

Negotiate — to try to reach an agreement or compromise by discussion with others; to find a way through an obstacle.

"We successfully negotiated a 15% discount on the annual contract by committing to a three-year term."

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Clause

noun

Clause — a particular and separate article, stipulation, or condition in a contract or legal document.

"The non-compete clause prevents employees from working for a direct competitor within two years of leaving."

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Due Diligence

noun phrase

Due Diligence — reasonable steps taken by a person or organization to investigate and evaluate a business opportunity, especially before signing a contract.

"Our legal team completed due diligence on the acquisition target and found no significant liabilities."