Recommended level: Pre-advanced (B2) / Advanced (C1)
This business English resource is meant to help you learn and practice the most essential vocabulary that you will hear in English offices and workplaces in general. To make the learning process more enjoyable and manageable, the phrases are separated into individual lessons and dialogues. Read the dialogue, then read the definitions and examples sentences underneath. I hope you enjoy improving your business English vocabulary, and that you keep practicing.
Business English Vocabulary Lesson 1: Phrases 1-8
get in touch (with someone) - send a message and communicate with someone; connect with someone; successfully contact someone.
"I got in touch with our supplier. They said they can give us a deal if we make a large order."
reach out (to someone) - send a message; attempt to contact someone.
"Could you reach out to Donna and ask her to double check these numbers?"
get back to someone - respond to someone; reply to someone.
"I'll get back to you as soon as I have an answer from accounting."
follow up (with someone) - send another message to someone (usually because you are waiting for a response, you want or need an answer about something important, you would like an update, you want to make sure they stay interested in something you are offering, etc.).
"Make sure that you follow up with the client tomorrow. We haven't heard from them in two days."
touch base (with someone) - meet with someone for an update.
"I know you're busy, but can we touch base about the marketing project this week? I have some questions."
So far, so good. - Until now, everything is okay; "So far" means "from the beginning until now."
"The negotiations have been going smoothly. So far, so good."
on track - progressing as expected; moving towards the goal in the expected way. (You can also "be on track" or "stay on track.")
"Is the launch date still realistic? Are we still on track?"
keep in touch (with someone) - continue to communicate; maintain contact with someone.
"We don't need new printers now, but let's keep in touch. Our needs might change in the future."
Business English Vocabulary Lesson 2: Phrases 9-16
get together (with someone) - meet (with someone).
"Mary and I got together to discuss the changes last week."
(on) one's plate - a person's workload; what someone has to do. (You can "have a lot on your plate," and someone could ask you, "What's on your plate for today?" if they want to know what tasks you have to do that day.)
"I don't have much on my plate this afternoon. How about how?"
set up (a meeting, an event, etc.) - arrange; organize; assemble. (You can also set up printers, phones, laptops, etc., meaning that you prepare them to start functioning.)
"This seems pretty important. We should probably set up a meeting to talk about it."
send (someone) an invite - send (someone) an invitation for their digital calendar (usually for a meeting).
"Jason wants you to be in the meeting, too. I'll send you an invite."
hear back (from someone) - receive a response (from someone).
"I sent her a message last week, but I still haven't heard back from her." (related: hear from someone)
let someone know - inform someone; tell someone.
"Could you let me know the best time to call?"
(keep someone / stay / be) in the loop - keep someone in a communication channel; stay or be one of the people who has the latest news about something; be part of the group that receives updates about something. (The opposite is, "out of the loop.")
"I'm going to check my emails while I'm on vacation so that I can stay in the loop about everything."
keep someone posted - keep someone updated.
"Could you keep me posted on any new job opportunities?"
Business English Vocabulary Lesson 3: Phrases 17-25
put off (an event or activity) - move to a later time. (This is similar to "push back" and "move back," but it can also be used to discuss procrastination, as in, "Why do you keep putting off your work? Just do it!"
"We've decided to put off the holiday party by one week in order to give more people a chance to buy tickets."
come up - happen; occur; appear unexpectedly. (If something "comes up," it is unexpected and usually requires immediate attention. The most common sentence with this phrase is, "Something has come up.")
"He called off the interview because something urgent had come up."
call off (an event or activity) - cancel (a meeting, an event, an appointment, etc.)
"Why did they call off the conference? It was going to be a massive event."
push back / move back (an event or activity) - move to a later time (a meeting, an event, an appointment, etc.); postpone.
"Could we push back the meeting to Wednesday?"
push up / move up (an event or activity) - move to an earlier time (a meeting, an event, an appointment, etc.); advance
"Did you hear that the public relations department moved up the date of the press conference?"
call it a day - end a period of activity; decide to stop working for the day. (You can also "call it a night" if you stay out late.)
"Okay, everyone. Let's call it a day. Have a good weekend!"
bring up - introduce into conversation; mention during a discussion (a question, a topic, a piece of news, etc.).
"Lydia has recently brought up the question of employee raises. At the moment, I don't have any news about this topic, but the moment I do, you will all be the first to know."
check in (with someone) - meet someone, usually briefly, because you want to get an update about something, or because you want to know what is happening. (This is similar to "touch base.")
"Good afternoon, Jason. Could we check in after work to discuss your recent time off request?"
go over something - review (a document, an email, a proposal, a previous conversation, etc.).
"I was going over your performance stats this morning, and your numbers are all really solid."
Business English Vocabulary Lesson 4: Phrases 26-34
come up with - think of, produce, create, or invent (an idea, a solution, etc.).
"This is a very strong proposal. How long did it take you to come up with it?"
with that in mind - considering what was just said; keeping the previous point in focus.
"The company is losing money. With that in mind, we regret to inform you all that we won't be able to give anyone a raise this year."
bring to the table - bring to the discussion or situation; what someone or something offers or contributes to a situation.
"I think we should promote Janina because she brings a lot to the table. She's experienced, she's motivated, she's smart, and she likes to help others."
start off - start; begin. (You can also say "start things off," as in, "To start things off, how long have you worked in advertising?")
"I started off my day by answering a bunch of urgent emails."
figure out - try to understand; find a solution to; solve, learn, or discover.
"We can't figure out how this happened. It doesn't make any sense."
crunch numbers - do calculations; calculate; analyze numerical data.
"Could you crunch the numbers on this and see if it would be a good idea for us?"
go back to the drawing board - start a plan or idea from the beginning because the current idea experienced problems.
"Ugh! This isn't going to work. We need to go back to the drawing board."
find out - learn or discover, either intentionally or accidentally.
"We need to find out how much our competitors are charging for the same thing."
[be / get] on top of something - be responsible for a situation; be in control of and be actively managing a situation; to be actively engaged with something.
"This is an emergency situation, and we need to get on top of it right away."
Business English Vocabulary Lesson 5: Phrases 35-42
come along - progress; go or move forward. (Usually used in the present continuous, as in, "How is it coming along?" to talk about how something is developing and progressing.)
"Wow! These prototype models are coming along great. Good job!"
up in the air - undecided; uncertain; unresolved; in a state where there are still multiple possible outcomes.
"Due to the mail strike, the delivery date of the product is currently up in the air."
wait and see - be patient; see how a situation develops before you make a decision or judgment.
"We just implemented the new policy last week. It's too early to say if it's a good idea. We have to wait and see."
pick up (something or someone) - acquire; get; take from a location.
"I'll be back in thirty minutes. I have to pick up something from the other office."
drop off (something or someone) - leave at a location; deliver to a location, usually by car.
"The delivery company said they would drop off the new computers tomorrow morning."
[be / get] on the ball - alert; aware and responsive; focused; consistently competent; fully engaged with your work. If you are on the ball, you are alert, focused, and doing a good job. People can rely on you if they have questions. If you are not on the ball, you are "lost" and not engaged with your work.
"I know you're having a hard time personally right now, but if you don't get on the ball soon, you're going to receive a warning, or worse."
[need / want / give someone] a hand - need or want help (need or want a hand); help someone (give someone a hand). (You can also say, "would like a hand," to mean, "would like some help.")
"Do you need a hand with that box? It looks heavy."
drop by (someplace) / pass by (someplace) - make a (usually quick) visit someplace. (You can also say, "stop by," or the more informal, "pop by.")
"I'll pass by your office after work. I need to give you something."
Business English Vocabulary Lesson 6: Phrases 43-50
wrap up - bring something (such as a meeting, project, etc.) to an end; conclude.
"Lunch is in ten minutes. We should wrap this up."
be out (of something) - the state of having nothing of something because you have used all of it.
"The photocopier is out of paper. Could you get some from the storage room?"
run out (of something) - the process of using all of something until there is nothing remaining.
"We should order more pencils. We're running out of them pretty quickly."
look into something - investigate; explore; examine.
"I looked into rental car prices, and I think this one is the best option for us."
(at) the last minute - in the final moments; just before something is due.
"He always waits until the last minute to write his weekly report."
fast-track (something or someone) - expedite; accelerate a process to get a faster outcome, or make a faster decision.
"This is a great idea. I don't think we need to discuss it further. Let's fast-track it and get started on it as soon as possible."
look forward to something - anticipate with pleasure; be excited and eager about something in the future
"Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions. I'm looking forward to hearing from you."
keep in mind - remember; be mindful of something; keep something as a priority.
"Before you make a decision about your future, keep in mind that everyone here wants you to stay, and the company is willing to give you a 5% pay increase."
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Practice your business English skills by answering these questions:
Do you need to get in touch with anyone in particular this week?
Are you waiting for anyone to follow up with you about something?
What is something you are looking forward to?
Are you almost out of anything in your office or in your kitchen?
What time do you usually call it a day?
Good luck with your studies. 🙂