Business English Vocabulary Online

Unit 3 On the phone

You can print out this wordlist for Unit 3 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.

mobile phone noun
a telephone which is connected to the telephone system by radio, rather than by a wire, and can therefore be used anywhere where its signals can be received

phone booth noun
a place, often partly enclosed, in a public building where there is a telephone that the public can use

telephonist = switchboard operator noun
a person whose job is to receive telephone calls and connect them to other numbers

batch noun
a group of things or people dealt with at the same time or considered similar in type

courier noun
a person who takes care of a group of people on holiday and shows them the most important things in the place they are visiting, or a person who carries important messages or documents for someone else

prototype noun
the first example of something, such as a machine or other industrial product, from which all later forms are developed

quote verb
to give a price, esp. that will be charged for doing a piece of work

receipt noun
Receipt is the act of receiving money or goods.

stick-on adjective
Something that is stick-on has glue or other similar substance on one side of it, so that it can fix to a surface.

subcontract verb
to pay someone else to do part of (a job that you have agreed to do)

answering machine = answerphone noun
a device connected to a telephone which answers calls automatically and records messages from callers

contact noun
the act of speaking to someone, either personally, by telephone or radio, electronically or by writing to someone

head office noun
the most important office of an organization or company, or the people working there

striped adjective
Something that is striped has stripes on it.

subsidiary adjective
less important than something else with which it is connected

freight noun
goods, but not passengers, that are carried from one place to another, by ship, aircraft, train or truck, or the system of transporting these goods

dial verb
to operate a telephone or make a telephone call to (someone) by pressing a particular series of numbered buttons, or moving a numbered disc, on the telephone

dispatch verb
to send (esp. goods or a message) somewhere for a particular purpose

image noun
a picture in the mind of what something or someone is like

quality control noun
the process of looking at goods when they are being produced to make certain that all the goods are of the intended standard

shipment noun
a large amount of goods sent together to a place, or the act of sending them

staff noun
the group of people who work for an organization

trade fair noun
a large gathering at which companies show and sell their products and try to increase their business

vegetarian noun
a person who does not eat meat for health or religious reasons or because they want to avoid cruelty to animals

agent noun
a person who acts for or represents another

confirm verb
to make (an arrangement or meeting) certain, often by telephone or writing

connect verb
(of a telephone operator) to make it possible for (someone) to speak to someone else by telephone

equipment noun
Equipment is the set of necessary tools, clothing etc. for a particular purpose.

extension noun
any of two or more telephones in the same house which share the same number, or any of a number of telephones connected to a switchboard in a large building such as an office

laboratory , informal lab noun
a room or building with scientific equipment for doing scientific tests or for teaching science, or a place where chemicals or medicines are produced

literature noun
printed material published by a company which is intended to encourage people to buy that company's products or services

put [someone] through phrasal verb
To put a telephone caller through (to someone) is to connect them so that they can speak to that person.

switchboard noun
a piece of equipment which is used to direct all the telephone calls made to and from a particular building or area

break down verb
If a machine or vehicle breaks down, it stops working.

non-smoking adjective
describes a place where people are not allowed to smoke, or a person who does not smoke

proposal noun
A proposal is a suggestion, sometimes a written one

stuffy adjective
(of a room or building) unpleasant because of a lack of fresh air

translate verb
to change (words) into a different language

congress noun
a large formal meeting of representatives from countries or societies at which ideas are discussed and information is exchanged

label noun
a piece of paper or other material which is stuck on or joined to an object, telling you what the object is, how to use it, to whom it belongs or other information

afflict verb
to make (someone or something) suffer physically or mentally