Today we have to look at some useful idioms which are used in common business communication and writing.
Being in the corporate world, you are surrounded by people from your genre. Sometimes while having a conversation, you might overhear the words such as cut corners to finish a analysis report. Sometimes you come across words that would describe a clingy customer – running around the circle.
Business Idioms and Phrases for Professional Workplace
These words, phrases, idioms are quite common in the workplace and are used most of the time. While looking at the people having so profound conversation, you might feel out of place.
It would be really amazing to know that various idioms that are used in the business world on daily routine are very simple and easily understandable.
With this post, you would feel confident about using idioms while having a conversation with your bosses or colleagues. You would be able to use them in your official documents by using different idiom every time. It will make your writing very different from others and also help you stand out.
With EnglishBix, we will help you to participate in such business conversation where you could use the typical business words, idioms, and phrases just like experts.
Here are some business idioms along with their proper meaning that you can start learning:
1. Get Down To Business
By this idiom, we usually mean that it is time to start taking things seriously and concentrating on actual work.
2. Right From Day One
With this idiom, we wish to convey “the very beginning” phase or initial phase. It means to talk about something that is true from the very first day of any work or project.
3. Learning The Ropes
This idiom can be used in a situation where a new coworker or a fresher need to learn the nitty-gritty of the assignments, all the basics of the work.
4. Bring It To The Table
This is quite a common idiom that most of the people use. Bringing something to the table usually refers to the benefits such as skills, experiences, job activity or business activity.
5. What is your learning curve
By learning curve, we describe the development of an employee to make him learn new skills or gain experience. If some have a steep learning curve then it indicates he might have to deal with difficult tasks or have to put in more efforts.
6. Get Off The Ground:
In the business world, while everyone is just discussing new and innovative ideas but not working to implement it, then this idiom can be used. It means that starting any new job or task after doing much discussion or planning.
7. Working On A Shoestring:
By this idiom, we usually mean that the person is on a very tight budget or does not have enough money.
8. The Eleventh Hour
By this idiom, we can say that if any task or assignment is done at the last minute.
9. Cut corners
Meaning: to do something the easiest or quickest way
How to use it: Cutting corners at work place results non performance
10. It’s not rocket science
Meaning: something is not complicated to understand
How to use it: Just look up the answer online; it’s not rocket science.
11. Get the ball rolling
Meaning: to get started
How to use it: It’s time to get the ball rolling on the 2022 sales
12. Up to speed
Meaning: to be familiar with current information
How to use it: We have a new face joining this week. Can everyone help him get up to speed on our admin functions?
13. On the back burner
Meaning: low priority
How to use it: Put that financial report on the back burner and focus on current year business plans.
14. Back to the drawing board
Meaning: to start again after a plan or idea was not successful
How to use it: The principal office rejected our proposal, so it’s back to the drawing board.
15. For the long haul
Meaning: A long period of time
How to use it: The new business plan with financials will be hard task, but we’re in it for the long haul.
16. Burn the midnight oil
Meaning: to consistently work beyond normal business hours
How to use it: Our team is burning the midnight oil to meet the deadline.
17. Change of pace
Meaning: to do something different from a normal routine
How to use it: Company outings are a nice change of pace from routine work week.
18. Think outside the box
Meaning: to go beyond a normal idea
How to use it: Stop looking and discussing on past examples and think outside the box.
19. On the same page
Meaning: to have a shared understanding with others
How to use it: Let’s all work on the same page.
20. Out on a limb
Meaning: to do or say something risky
How to use it: She went out on a limb to defend my unconventional strategy.
21. Jump the gun
Meaning: to do something early or before the right time
How to use it: Always do research instead jumping the gun.
22. Throw in the towel
Meaning: to quit or accept failure
How to use it: After receiving the negative feedback, she was ready to throw in the towel.
23. Miss the mark
Meaning: to fail to achieve an intended goal
How to use it: Please redo the presentation since you missed the mark the first time.
24. Stay on your toes
Meaning: to stay alert
How to use it: There will be a surprise visit, so stay on your toes.
25. Raise the bar
Meaning: to raise standards or expectations
How to use it: The team must raise the bar if we want to win a customer service award.
26. Back to square one
Meaning: back to the beginning
How to use it: If we lose our connections with this company, it’ll be back to square one.
27. Hit the nail on the head
Meaning: to find exactly the right answer
How to use it: In order to hit the nail on the head, please understand the concept thoroughly.
28. Cut to the chase
Meaning: to get to the point without wasting time
How to use it: Stop talking about irrelevant statistics and cut to the chase.
29. Rock the boat
Meaning: to disturb a situation
How to use it: The team is finally working well together. A new hire may rock the boat.
30. To be in hot water
Meaning: to be in trouble
How to use it: My coworker is in hot water after sending a rude email.
31. Get your foot in the door
Meaning: to enter an organization or industry
How to use it: A coffee meeting can help you get your foot in the door with prospective clients.
32. Small talk
Meaning: a discussion about everyday topics
How to use it: The employees made small talk about their weekends while waiting outside the board room.
33. Have your work cut out
Meaning: to have something very difficult to do
How to use it: She has her work cut out for her when it comes to training the new team.
34. See eye to eye
Meaning: to agree
How to use it: My boss and I don’t always see eye to eye on reporting techniques.
35. To be in the dark
Meaning: to be uninformed
How to use it: The company merger is confidential, so we’re going to keep some employees in the dark.
36. The bottom line
Meaning: the most important part
How to use it: It may be a good idea, but the bottom line is that it’s not profitable.
37. Call the shots
Meaning: to make the major decisions
How to use it: Ultimately, it’s the client’s choice since they call the shots.
38. Slack off
Meaning: to work lazily
How to use it: Don’t expect a promotion if you’re constantly slacking off.
39. Glass ceiling
Meaning: a metaphorical barrier preventing advancement to a higher position
How to use it: I think there’s a glass ceiling because I don’t see any room for growth here.
40. Fine print
Meaning: details of a contract that are usually overlooked
How to use it: Always read the fine print before signing a contract.
41. Crunch the numbers
Meaning: to do a lot of calculations or to solve a problem
How to use it: We’ll need to crunch the numbers to make sure we can afford this.
42. Have a lot on your plate
Meaning: to have a lot of responsibilities
How to use it: I have a lot on my plate since my supervisor quit last week.
43. Learning curve
Meaning: the rate of gaining experience or new skills
How to use it: New employees usually have a learning curve.
44. Ramp up
Meaning: to increase
How to use it: The team needs to ramp up productivity in order to meet their deadlines.
45. In the red
Meaning: to be in debt
How to use it: If my company loses this client, we’ll be in the red for months.
46. The ball’s in your court
Meaning: to have the responsibility or to take action
How to use it: We handed off the assets so the ball’s in your court now.
47. Off the top of one’s head
Meaning: to know immediately
How to use it: I can’t think of any ideas off the top of my head; I’ll have to do more research.
48. Long shot
Meaning: a low likelihood of something happening
How to use it: It’s a long shot, but maybe we can convince our boss to take Saturday’s off.
49. 24/7
Meaning: 24 hours a day, seven days a week
How to use it: He’s in the office 24/7 due to his heavy work pressure.
50. By the book
Meaning: to do something by law or rule
How to use it: The company fired the CFO for not doing things by the as per book.
Before moving ahead to different idioms, you need to learn how to master those Business Idioms. Here are some tips that would help you in doing so.
1. Listen And Take Notes The Business Phrases
You might be hearing a lot of business words, phrases and idioms throughout the day. Now, once you register it in your mind, you would need to jot them down. You can repeat it once or twice in a day so that you do not forget it easily. This tip can be applied to improving your vocabulary as well. You must be careful about the words that you use as it can have a similar meaning. For instance, the field of sales has a set of vocab that is completely different from finance.
2. You Must Always Have Target
By setting up different targets for yourself you can make the process of learning very effective. You can have different levels of the target in which you can set small as well as large targets. You can start by learning 4 idioms or phrases every week.
3. Participate In Workplace Conversation
You can indulge yourself in work discussion and small talks which has two benefits. First of all, you need to listen carefully and try to learn new phrases. Secondly, keep practicing those till you have good command on all the idioms that you learn.
Entrepreneurship is important as it has the ability to improve standards of living and create wealth, not only for the entrepreneurs but also for related businesses. Entrepreneurs also help drive change with innovation, where new and improved products enable new markets to be developed.
Business Proverbs for Entrepreneurs to Learn
- In every crisis, there is opportunity.
- Sow a thought, reap an action; sow an action, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character; sow a character, reap a destiny.
- The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.
- If you want one year of prosperity, grow grain. If you want ten years of prosperity, grow trees. If you want one hundred years of prosperity, grow people.
- A bad workman blames his tools.
- A closed mind is like a closed book; just a block of wood.
- A fall into a ditch makes you wiser.
- A fly before his own eye is bigger than an elephant in the next field.
- A jade stone is useless before it is processed; a man is good-for-nothing until he is educated.
- A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
- A person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the man doing it.
- A single conversation with a wise man is better than ten years of study.
- All cats love fish but fear to wet their paws.
- Cheap things are not good, good things are not cheap.
- Customers are jade; merchandise is grass.
- Defeat isn’t bitter if you don’t swallow it.
- Defer not till to-morrow what may be done to-day.
- Don’t count your chickens before they are hatched.
- Don’t stand by the water and long for fish; go home and weave a net.
- Easy to run downhill, much puffing to run up.
- Failing to plan is planning to fail.
- Falling hurts least those who fly low.
- If a thing’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well.
- If you get up one more time than you fall you will make it through.
- If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys.
Conclusion:
Just remember, these are some of the idioms that are commonly used in the business world. If you some more, that you wish others to know then you can use our comment section below to post them. We at EnglishBix would be happy to know about it. With our blogs, we are trying to help people learn English without getting nervous. So, stay tuned to get more updated from our website.
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