Essential Business English Vocabulary & Financial Terms

Business & Financial Terminology

Core Business & Financial Concepts

• Overheads: Gastos generales (General expenses)
• Operating Profit: Beneficio de explotación (Profit from operations)
• Reduced by 50% / Halved: Reducido a la mitad
• Budgets: A plan of how to spend an amount for a period of time.
• Huge Conglomerate: A large business organization comprising several companies.
• Running Up (a debt/bill): Contraer una deuda (To incur a debt or bill).
• Joint Venture: A business arrangement in which two or more parties agree to pool their resources for the purpose of accomplishing a specific task.
• Subsidiary: A company controlled by a parent company.
• Parent Company: A company that owns enough voting stock in another firm to control its management and operations.
• Consortium: A group of companies in a similar business working together.
• Licensing: Selling the right to use a manufacturer's trademark or intellectual property.
• Local Partner: A local entity collaborating with a foreign business.

Market & Economic Trends Vocabulary

• Soar: Precios se dispararon (Prices shot up rapidly).
• Tumble: Venirse abajo (To fall sharply).
• Plunge: Caída en picado (A sudden, steep fall).
• Rocket: Subir rápidamente (To rise very quickly).
• Slump: Decline económico (Economic decline).
• Shrink: Encoger (To become smaller).
• Take Off: Despegar (To start to be successful or popular very quickly).
• Weaken: Reducir (To become less strong or effective).

Essential Phrasal Verbs & Business Expressions

Common Phrasal Verbs

• Look After: To take care of someone or something.
• Look Around: To explore a place.
• Look Forward (to): To anticipate something with pleasure.
• Take Out: To remove something; to obtain something (e.g., a loan).
• Take Part (in): To get involved in an activity.
• Take Up: To accept an offer; to start a hobby or activity.
• Turned Up: To arrive or appear unexpectedly.
• Turn Down: To refuse an offer or request.

Business & Office Vocabulary

• Call Off (an event): To cancel an event.
• Cut Down On (cigarettes): To reduce the amount of something.
• Look Round (a house): To inspect a place.
• Run Up (a bill): To allow a bill or debt to increase.
• Take Up (an invitation): To accept an invitation.
• Throw Out (old files): To discard old files.
• Monthly Budget: Presupuesto final (Final budget for a month).
• Postage: Gastos de correo (Mail expenses).
• Stationery: Material de oficina (Office supplies).
• Skilled Staff: Personal cualificado (Qualified personnel).
• Government Grants: Subvenciones estatales (State subsidies).

Business Concepts & Market Dynamics

• Blueprint: A design plan or other theoretical drawing.
• Breakthrough: An important discovery or development.
• Bottom Out: Tocar fondo (To reach the lowest point and then stabilize).
• Levelled Off: Remained stable (To stop rising or falling and stay at the same level).
• Rise Dramatically: Go up very fast (To increase very quickly).
• Poured: Flowed quickly (To flow rapidly).
• Followed Suit: Copied (To do the same as someone else).
• Collapse: Ended suddenly (To fall down or break down suddenly).
• Bankrupt: Unable to pay debts (Legally declared unable to pay debts).
• Industrialist: A powerful business person controlling large companies.
• Rocketed: Went up very fast (Increased extremely quickly).
• Break: A change for a short period (A short interruption).
• Took Off: Became very active (Became very successful or popular very quickly).

Adjectives, Adverbs & Business Idioms

Descriptive Adjectives & Adverbs

• Chair: The person in charge of a meeting.
• Fairly Accurate: Bastante exacto (Quite precise).
• Slightly Damaged: Ligeramente dañado (Minimally harmed).
• Superbly Presented: Soberbiamente presentado (Excellently displayed).
• Thoroughly Enjoyed: Totalmente disfrutado (Completely enjoyed).
• Incredibly Well-Prepared: Extremely well-prepared.
• Severely Criticised: Strongly criticized.
• Absolutely Awful: Completely terrible.
• Badly Misjudged: Poorly assessed.
• Totally Unrealistic: Completely impractical.

Common Business Idioms

• To Put In A Nutshell: En resumen (To summarize briefly).
• To Get Straight To The Point: To talk about the most important thing immediately.
• To Hear It On The Grapevine: To hear unofficial information through informal communication.
• To Put You In The Picture: Ponerte al día (To update someone on a situation).
• To Get The Wrong End Of The Stick: To misunderstand a situation completely.
• To Be On The Same Wavelength: To have similar ideas and understand each other well.
• Can't Make Head Nor Tail Of It: To be unable to understand something at all.
• To Talk At Cross Purposes: To misunderstand each other because you are talking about different things without realizing it.
• To Beat About The Bush: Irse por las ramas (To avoid talking about what is important).
• To Get Our Wires Crossed: No entender bien, misunderstand (To misunderstand each other).

E-commerce & Retail Vocabulary

Online & Digital Terms

• Browse: Looking for something on the internet.
• Directories: Links we use to find a web page.
• Hits: Visits to a web page.
• Net: Pages on the internet (often refers to the internet itself).
• Search Engines: Special services that some companies offer to help us find web pages.

Sales & Customer Service Terms

• Bargain: Ganga (Something bought for less than its usual price).
• Cooling-Off Period: A time when you can change your mind and cancel an order.
• Interest-Free Credit: When you can pay over time after you buy, but with no extra cost.
• Money-Back Guarantee: A promise to give your money back if you aren't happy with the product.
• After-Sales Service: Help from a company when you start to use their product.

Logistics & Supply Chain Vocabulary

• Warehouse: A building for storing goods.
• Ship or Dispatch a Product: To send a product to a customer.
• Refund: Money given back to a customer who has returned goods.
• Wholesaler: A person or company that sells goods in large quantities to businesses.
• Retailer: A company or person that sells goods to members of the public.

General Business Operations

• Department: A large part of a company.
• Manufacturer: A person or company that makes a product.
• Supply: To deliver products to a company or person.
• Enable: To make possible.