Business English vocabulary: 25 words for meetings and email
B1–B225 words
Most business English is a small set of words repeated constantly in meetings, status updates and email. Learning these twenty-five gives you the frame of a professional conversation; the specialist vocabulary of your own industry then slots into it.
Where you will use it: Meetings, email, project updates and negotiation.
Business English — The word list
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| deadline | The latest time by which something must be finished.“The deadline for the report is Friday.” |
| stakeholder | A person with an interest in a project's outcome.“We need approval from every stakeholder.” |
| follow up | To check on something after a first contact.“I will follow up with the client tomorrow.” |
| agenda | The list of items to discuss in a meeting.“Let's add pricing to the agenda.” |
| revenue | The money a business earns from sales.“Revenue grew twenty-five percent this quarter.” |
| invoice | A document requesting payment.“We sent the invoice at the end of the month.” |
| scope | The extent of what a project covers.“That request is outside the scope of the contract.” |
| on track | Progressing as planned.“The launch is still on track for June.” |
| bottleneck | The step that slows down the whole process.“Approval has become the bottleneck.” |
| get back to | To reply to someone later.“I will get back to you with the numbers.” |
| roll out | To introduce something gradually.“We roll out the new pricing next week.” |
| take on | To accept work or responsibility.“She took on the whole onboarding project.” |
| budget | A plan for how money will be spent.“The project is within budget.” |
| quarter | A three-month business period.“Sales rose in the final quarter.” |
| proposal | A formal plan offered for consideration.“The client accepted our proposal.” |
| negotiate | To discuss terms until an agreement is reached.“We need to negotiate the delivery date.” |
| forecast | A prediction of future results.“The sales forecast looks encouraging.” |
| profit margin | The percentage of sales kept as profit.“Higher costs reduced our profit margin.” |
| target | A result a person or team aims to reach.“We exceeded our monthly target.” |
| allocate | To assign money, time or people to a purpose.“We allocated more staff to support.” |
| deliverable | A piece of work promised by a deadline.“The design file is the first deliverable.” |
| benchmark | A standard used for comparison.“We use last year as a benchmark.” |
| compliance | Following laws, rules or standards.“The policy ensures data compliance.” |
| touch base | To make brief contact and exchange updates.“Let's touch base on Thursday.” |
| sign off | To formally approve something.“The director signed off the campaign.” |
Useful learning tips
- Learn in small groupsTake five words at a time and review them before adding more.
- Say the examples aloudReading each sentence aloud connects spelling, sound and meaning.
- Write your own sentenceUse each word in a true sentence about your life or work.
How to study this list
Add five or six of these words a day rather than the whole list at once, keep the example sentence on the card, and review them when they come due. WordNest schedules each word across seven growing intervals — same day, then 1, 3, 7, 14, 30 and 60 days — so the list is still with you months later. Read how spaced repetition works if you want the reasoning behind those numbers.
Studying business english pairs well with our English for Software Engineers, Financial and Accounting English and business email phrases in English, or browse all free English word lists.
Related guides
Questions about this list
How can I practise Business English?
Start with five words and say each example aloud. Then recall the word from its meaning and review it over several days.
Where can I use Business English?
Meetings, email, project updates and negotiation.
How many words are in this list?
This list contains 25 English words with definitions and example sentences. It is a starting set, not a complete syllabus.
Turn this list into flashcards
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