INDEX:
1. the work that companies do
2. the amount of business a company is doing
3. relating to business
4. to do business
5. a business agreement
6. someone who works in business
RELATED WORDS
when a business fails : ↑ FAIL (8)
see also
↑ COMPANY
↑ MANAGER
↑ MONEY
↑ PROFIT
↑ SELL
↑ BUY
↑ JOB
↑ SHOP/STORE
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1. the work that companies do
▷ business /ˈbɪznɪs, ˈbɪznəs/ [uncountable noun]
the work that companies do when they buy and sell goods and services :
▪ Business in Europe has been badly affected by economic conditions in Asia.
on business
for business reasons
▪ She’ll be back next week - she’s in Korea on business.
the advertising/computer/insurance business
the work of companies that are involved in advertising, computers etc
▪ He’s been in the advertising business for over 20 years now, and he wants to get out.
have a head for business
have a good understanding of business
▪ Spending a year working for a big company will be good for him - at the moment he has no head for business at all.
▷ trade /treɪd/ [uncountable noun]
the buying and selling of goods and services, especially between countries :
trade with/between
▪ The introduction of the Euro should make trade between European countries much easier.
trade in something
the buying and selling of a particular kind of goods
▪ The trade in data processing between countries is likely to grow faster than the trade in goods.
trade agreement
▪ South Korea and Japan have signed an important trade agreement.
trade deficit
when a country buys more goods from another country than it sells to that country
▪ The trade deficit with China remains high.
trade embargo
when a country refuses to buy goods from another country or sell goods to that country
▪ The U.S. has maintained a trade embargo against Cuba since 1962.
balance of trade
the difference between the amount a country buys and the amount it sells
▪ Strong exports of services helped the overall balance of trade.
world/international/overseas trade
▪ After agriculture, overseas trade accounts for the largest portion of the economy.
the fur/arms/diamond etc trade
the buying and selling of fur, weapons etc
▪ The war has created favorable conditions for the illegal arms trade.
▷ commerce /ˈkɒmɜːʳsǁˈkɑː-/ [uncountable noun]
the buying and selling of goods and services, especially between companies or countries - use this to talk about these activities in general :
▪ One of the roles of the federal government is to regulate interstate commerce.
▪ He had a genuine talent for commerce and soon had a brilliant career working for the World Bank.
▷ industry /ˈɪndəstri/ [countable/uncountable noun]
the production of large quantities of goods to sell to people, or the companies and people that are involved in this process :
▪ The region has tried to attract new industry in order to reduce unemployment.
the textile/motor/engineering etc industry
▪ Many people moved from Asia to work in the British textile industry, where jobs were plentiful.
in industry
▪ She was looking for a management position in industry.
heavy industry
the production of steel, cars, ships etc
▪ The Ruhr valley has always been the centre of German heavy industry.
light industry
the production of goods such as electronic and electrical goods
▪ Ireland is now a European center for light industry, like computer assembly.
▷ e-commerce /ˈiː ˌkɒmɜːʳsǁ-ˌkɑː-/ [uncountable noun]
the buying and selling of goods and services on the Internet :
▪ E-commerce is still a small but fast-growing part of the U.S. economy.
▪ a conference to debate the future of e-commerce
▷ operations /ˌɒpəˈreɪʃ ə nzǁˌɑːp-/ [plural noun]
a company’s operations are all its activities, especially in one country or one area of business :
UK/US/overseas/international etc operations
▪ Salco may have to close down its UK operations with the loss of 1500 jobs.
▪ He was an important decision maker in terms of GM’s overseas operations.
▷ dealings /ˈdiːlɪŋz/ [plural noun]
business activities, especially those that involve the movement of money between companies, countries, banks etc :
▪ The company had to pay a lot of tax on its financial dealings during the past tax year.
dealings with
▪ Mr Stockwell’s dealings with several Third World banks are currently under investigation.
▷ venture /ˈventʃəʳ/ [countable noun]
a new business activity which involves risking money :
▪ The group is planning to risk everything to get their next venture off the ground.
business venture
▪ His bankruptcy was the result of several reckless business ventures.
joint venture
▪ Ford has invested $125 million in a joint venture to build engines in China.
2. the amount of business a company is doing
▷ business /ˈbɪznɪs, ˈbɪznəs/ [uncountable noun] a company is successful/not successful
▪ Business is really bad at the moment. They may have to sell some of their factories overseas.
▪ Business was good until June and then sales fell because people were on vacation.
business is booming
business is very good
▪ In the old days, when business was booming, he used to fly to New York twice a week.
something is good for business
▪ Building the new highway will be good for business.
▷ turnover /ˈtɜːʳnəʊvəʳ/ [singular noun]
the amount of goods or services that a company sells in a particular period of time :
▪ Our corporation has an annual turnover of $3.2 billion.
▪ Turnover is expected to double now that the recession is over.
▷ sales /seɪlz/ [plural noun]
the amount of goods or services that a company sells :
▪ Sales have been far better than expected.
▪ These firms report sales of between 10 and 20 million dollars a year.
sales figures
information about how much has been sold
▪ December sales figures will be released on Thursday.
3. relating to business
▷ business /ˈbɪznɪs, ˈbɪznəs/ [adjective only before noun]
▪ During the first week of the secretarial course we learned how to write business letters.
▪ Most of the women there were wearing business suits.
business trip/lunch/meeting
a trip, meal etc arranged for business reasons not pleasure
▪ He’s in Tokyo on a business trip.
business associate
someone you do business with
▪ I’ve known Mr Henry for years. He’s one of my father’s old business associates.
▷ commercial /kəˈmɜːʳʃ ə l/ [adjective only before noun]
a commercial activity or organization is concerned with the business of buying and selling goods and services :
▪ His first commercial venture was opening a small corner shop.
▪ The British Empire was established for commercial as well as political reasons.
▪ The space shuttle is being used more and more for commercial purposes.
commercially [adverb]
relating to whether something is successful and makes a profit: :
▪ Commercially, the movie was a disaster.
▷ industrial /ɪnˈdʌstriəl/ [adjective usually before noun]
relating to the production of goods in factories :
▪ The government is giving high priority to industrial development.
▪ industrial waste
4. to do business
▷ do business /ˌduː ˈbɪznə̇s/ [verb phrase]
if a company does business with another company, it buys things from them or sells things to them :
▪ I hope you’ll think about my offer. I’m sure we can do business.
do business with
▪ They do a lot of business with Italian companies.
▪ She’s very efficient - the kind of person you want to do business with.
do good business
do a lot of successful business
▪ They’ve been doing very good business lately. They’ll probably even expand their operations.
▷ be in business /biː ɪn ˈbɪznə̇s/ [verb phrase]
if someone is in business they own a company or shop :
▪ In all the twenty years I’ve been in business this is the worst period I’ve seen for sales.
▪ The insurance companies are in business to make money, not waste it.
set up in business
British start a company, shop etc
▪ When I qualified I set up in business as a financial consultant.
▷ deal with /ˈdiːl wɪð/ [transitive phrasal verb]
to buy goods from another company or person, or sell goods to them :
▪ I deal with farmers, selling them things like cattle feed and insecticides.
▪ They don’t buy their office supplies from a store - they only deal with the manufacturers.
▪ We don’t deal with the actors directly - we usually have to go through their agents.
▷ deal in /ˈdiːl ɪn something/ [transitive phrasal verb]
to do business buying or selling a particular product :
▪ Companies that deal in oil should prepare themselves for a price drop.
▪ The main commodities he dealt in were rice, and lentils.
▷ trade /treɪd/ [intransitive verb]
if a country or large organization trades with another country or large organization, they buy, sell, or exchange goods with each other :
trade with
▪ The two nations have not traded with each other for over 30 years.
trading partner
a country that regularly does business with another country
▪ Japan is one of our major trading partners.
▷ operate /ˈɒpəreɪtǁˈɑː-/ [intransitive verb]
if a company or organization operates it takes part in business activities, especially in one country or in one kind of business :
▪ Olivetti operates in all the major computer markets in the world.
▪ Screenview are a small company operating from a converted barn in a village near Norwich.
5. a business agreement
▷ deal /diːl/ [countable noun]
a business agreement between two companies, especially when one company agrees to provide goods or services, and another company agrees to buy them :
▪ Wickes lost a lot of money on two large property deals.
deal with
▪ They agreed a $55 million deal with a leading Japanese automobile company.
sign a deal
▪ Taylor recently signed a deal to lease her three-bedroom home for $14,000.
finalize a deal
complete it
▪ It is expected that the deal will be finalized before the end of May.
▷ transaction /trænˈzækʃ ə n/ [countable noun]
a business deal between two or more people or companies in which money is given and something is bought or sold :
▪ When the transaction is complete it will be at least two weeks before you receive your copy of the contract.
▪ Most transactions are processed by computer at our Head Office.
6. someone who works in business
▷ businessman/businesswoman/businessperson /ˈbɪznɪsmən, ˈbɪznəsmən, ˈbɪz nə̇sˌwʊmən, ˈbɪznə̇sˌpɜːʳs ə n/ [countable noun]
someone who works in business, especially as the owner or manager of a company :
▪ Tim Knight is a high-powered businessman who runs his own electronics company.
▪ A successful businesswoman, she had made her first million before she was 21.
▷ entrepreneur /ˌɒntrəprəˈnɜːʳǁˌɑːn-/ [countable noun]
someone who is willing to risk their money in order to make a profit or start a new company :
▪ The Bay Area is full of entrepreneurs hoping to make money on the Internet.
▪ A few months ago a young property entrepreneur bought a vacant house, redecorated it and sold it for twice the original value.