Business English Vocabulary Online

Unit 1 Face to face

You can print out this wordlist for Unit 1 of New International Business English - or you can click on any of the highlighted words for further explanations and sample sentences on the Cambridge Dictionaries Online website.

aggressive
aggression - spoken or physical behaviour which is threatening or involves harm to someone or something

appointment noun
a formal arrangement to meet or visit someone at a particular time and place

badge noun
a small piece of metal, plastic, cloth, etc., with words or a picture on it, that is pinned or sewn to your clothing, often to show your support for a political organization or belief, or your rank, or membership of a group, etc.

colleague noun
one of a group of people who work together

head of department noun
head - someone in charge of or leading an organization, group, etc.
department - any of the divisions or parts of esp. a school, university, business or government

managing director noun
(British and Australian) A managing director (abbreviation MD) of a company is the person in charge of the way it operates.

personnel noun
the people who are employed in a company, organization or one of the armed forces

public relations noun
the activity of keeping good relationships between an organization and the people outside it

sales office noun
Sales is the department of a company that organizes and does the selling of the things it makes.

sincere adjective
(of a person, feelings or behaviour) not pretending; without falseness; honest

small talk noun
social conversation about unimportant things, often between people who do not know each other well

superior noun
(a person or group of people who are) higher in rank or social position than others

surname noun
the name that you share with other members of your family

vice-chairman noun
vice - used as part of the title of particular positions. The person who holds one of these positions is next below in authority to the person who holds the full position and can act for them
chairman - a person in charge of a meeting or organization

visitor
visit - to go to a place in order to look at it, or to a person in order to spend time with them

whereabouts noun
the place where a person or thing is

aperitif noun
an alcoholic drink, esp. one which is drunk before a meal

apparently
used to say you have read or been told something although you are not certain it is true

behaviour noun
behave - to act in a particular way, or to be good by acting in a way which has society's approval

chew over noun
to think about or discuss something carefully for a long time

counterpart noun
a person or thing which has the same purpose as another one in a different place or organization

demonstration
demonstrate - to show; to make clear

disaster noun
(an event which results in) great harm, damage or death, or serious difficulty

manners plural noun
polite ways of treating other people and behaving in public

offence noun
upset and hurt feelings or feelings of annoyance, often because someone has been rude or shown a lack of respect

syllable noun
a single unit of speech, either a whole word or one of the parts into which a word is separated when it is spoken or divided when it is printed. It usually contains a vowel.

tricky adjective
(of a piece of work or a problem) difficult to deal with and needing careful attention or skill

accountant noun
An accountant is someone who keeps or examines the records of money received, paid and owed by a company or person.

ambitious adjective
Someone who is ambitious has a great desire to be successful, powerful or wealthy.

application noun
An application is a computer program that is designed for a particular purpose.

challenge noun
(the situation of being faced with) something needing great mental or physical effort in order to be done successfully and which therefore tests a person's ability

deadline noun
a time or day by which something must be done

environment noun
the conditions that you live or work in and the way that they influence how you feel or how effectively you can work

finance noun
(the management of) a supply of money

generate verb
to cause to exist, or to produce

hands-on
Someone who has hands-on experience of something has done or used it personally rather than just read or learned about it.

hectic adjective
full of activity; very busy and fast

responsibility noun
A responsibility is a duty that you have because of your job or position

body language noun
the movements or positions by which you unintentionally show other people how you are feeling

business card noun
a small rectangular piece of stiff paper with information printed on it, esp. a person's job title, business address and telephone number

click verb
to make a short sharp sound, or to make something do this

co-worker noun
a person working with another worker, esp. as a partner or helper

concentrate verb
to direct (your mental powers or your efforts) towards a particular activity, subject or problem

conference noun
an event, sometimes lasting a few days, at which there are a group of talks on a particular subject, or a meeting in which esp. business matters are discussed formally

delegate noun
a person chosen or elected by a group to speak, vote, etc. for them, esp. at a meeting

indigestion noun
pain caused in the region of the stomach by the stomach not correctly breaking down food so that it can be used by the body

quiz noun
a game or competition in which you answer questions

reliable adjective
Something that is reliable can be trusted because it works well.

sigh verb
to breathe out slowly and noisily, expressing tiredness, sadness, pleasure, boredom, etc.

sniff verb
to take air in through your nose noisily and in one action, usually to stop the liquid inside the nose from flowing out, or to smell something by taking air in through your nose

yawn verb
to open the mouth wide and deeply breathe in and out without conscious effort, usually when tired or bored

border noun
a strip that goes around or along the edge of something, often as decoration

ballpark figure noun
a number which is a guess, but which you believe is near the correct number

fact noun
something which is known to have happened or to exist, esp. something for which proof exists, or about which there is information

flu noun
an infectious illness which is like a very bad cold, but which causes a fever

junior adjective
low or lower in rank

senior adjective
high or higher in rank

sketch noun
a simple, quickly-made drawing which does not have many details, or a short written or spoken story which does not have many details