Business English Vocabulary Online

Unit 13 Jobs and careers

You can print out this wordlist for Unit 13 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.

acquire verb
to obtain (something)

attitude noun
a feeling or opinion about something or someone, or a way of behaving that is caused by this

cabin crew noun
In an aircraft, the cabin crew/staff are the people whose job it is to take care of the passengers.

the dole noun informal
the money that the government gives to people who are unemployed

slot noun
an amount of time which is officially allowed for a single event in a planned order of activities or events

from scratch
completely from the beginning

jump at phrasal verb
To jump at something is to accept it eagerly.

recession noun
a period when the economy of a country is not successful, business conditions are bad, industrial production and trade are at a low level and there is a lot of unemployment

recruit verb
to persuade someone to become a new member of an organization, esp. the army

transition noun
a change from one form or type to another, or the process by which this happens

volunteer noun
a person who does something, esp. helps other people, willingly and without being forced or paid to do it

ageism noun
treating people unfairly because of their age

alleviate verb
to make something bad such as pain or problems less severe

aptitude noun
Aptitude is natural ability or skill.

arbitrary adjective
based on chance rather than being planned or based on reason

blanket adjective
including or affecting everything, everyone, or all cases, in a large group or area

creed noun
a set of beliefs which expresses a particular opinion and influences the way you live

criminology noun
Criminology is the scientific study of crime and criminals

culprit noun
someone who has done something wrong

CV UK noun
= curriculum vitae: a short written description of your education, qualifications, previous employment and sometimes also your personal interests, which you send to an employer when you are trying to get a job

discriminate verb
to treat a person or particular group of people differently, esp. in a worse way from the way in which you treat other people, because of their skin colour, religion, sex, etc.

dynamic adjective
having a lot of ideas and enthusiasm; energetic and forceful

guilt noun
a feeling of anxiety or unhappiness that you have because you have done something wrong, such as causing harm to another person

high-flyer noun
someone who has a lot of ability and a strong desire to be successful and is therefore expected to achieve a lot

irrespective adjective
without considering; not needing to allow for

lag verb
to move or advance so slowly that you are behind other people or things

obsessed adjective
unable to stop thinking about something; too interested in or very worried about something

oppress verb
to make (a person) feel uncomfortable or anxious, and sometimes ill

pressing adjective
urgent or needing to be dealt with immediately

prevalent adjective
existing very commonly or happening frequently

résumé noun
US and ANZ for CV (=curriculum vitae: a short written description of your education, qualifications, previous employment and sometimes also your personal interests, which you send to an employer when you are trying to get a job)

rot verb
to (cause to) decay

set in phrasal verb
(of something unpleasant) to begin and to be likely to continue to exist

sliding scale noun
A sliding scale is a system in which the rate at which something is measured varies as a result of other conditions.

steady adjective
not moving or changing suddenly

strenuous adjective
demanding or using a lot of physical or mental effort or energy

corridor noun
a long passage in a building or train, esp. with rooms on either side

give [someone] a hard time phrasal verb
If you give someone a hard time, you make things difficult or unpleasant for them.

interviewer noun
An interviewer is the person who asks the questions during an interview.

panel noun
a small group of people chosen to give advice, make a decision, or publicly discuss their opinions as entertainment

promising adjective
Something which is promising shows signs that it is going to be successful or enjoyable.

short list noun
A short list is a list of people who have been judged the most suitable for a job or prize, made from a longer list of people originally considered, and from which one person will be chosen.

bonus noun
an extra amount of money that is given to you as a present or reward in addition to the money you were expecting

eligible adjective
having the necessary qualities or fulfilling the necessary conditions

the nitty-gritty noun informal
the basic facts of a situation

scope noun
the opportunity for doing something

initiative noun
the ability to use your judgment to make decisions and do things without needing to be told what to do