10 Business Idioms Commonly Used by Natives

You will find native speakers frequently using the following 10 idioms in a work and business
environment:
Idiom 1: “back to square one”
Example: “We’ve spent 6 months using this sales strategy, but the results are not improving. I think we
should go back to square one and rethink our approach.”
Meaning: Go back to the beginning. Start over again.

Idiom 2: “call it a day”

Example: “I think we’ve covered enough for today’s meeting. Let’s call it a day, shall we?”
Meaning: To stop work or an activity.

Idiom 3: “get something off the ground”

Example: “My goal for this year is to get my business off the ground. I’m currently in the process of
raising funds, and I believe I’m on course for getting it off the ground in September.”
Meaning: To get something started. This could be a project or a new business.

Idiom 4: “go through the roof”

Example: “The real estate market is really heating up. Since last year, house prices have gone through
the roof.”
Meaning: When something is rapidly increasing. Typically used to describe increasing prices or sales.

Idiom 5: “groundbreaking”
Example: “The programmable computer was a groundbreaking, post World War 11 invention.”
Meaning: When something is new and innovative.

Idiom 6: “a long shot”

Example: “I know it’s a long shot because he has a lot going on, but maybe I can convince him to
partner with us for this project.”
Meaning: Something that has a small chance of succeeding.
Idiom 7: “a no brainer”
Example: “Accepting the position in New York was a no brainer. They offered me a salary increase of
50%, and will also pay for my accommodation.”
Meaning: A decision that is very obvious or easy to make.

Idiom 8: “raise the bar”

Example: “Even though we increased the turnover by 10% last year, I want to raise the bar for this year
and set the target at 20%.”
Meaning: to increase standards or expectations.

Idiom 9: “touch base”

Example: “This week I intend to touch base with our top 3 clients to make sure everything’s running
smoothly.”
Meaning: To make contact with someone. Often used by commercial professionals when following up
with clients.

Idiom 10: “word of mouth.”

Example: “20% of our customers hear about our company through word of mouth.”
Meaning: When people hear about a product or service through informal conversation with friends or
colleagues.

5 Tips for Learning Business Idioms

Here are a few tips you can start applying today to increase your business idiom repertoire:

Tip # 1:
Choose business idioms which you will use. For example, if you work in marketing, learn “word of
mouth” and “raise the bar”. The more you use new language, the easier it is to remember.

Tip #2:
Buy a business idiom book, like one of these. Learn an idiom. Then go to the site linguee.co.uk. Type in
the idiom and search for example sentences with the translation in your mother tongue. This will show
you the context of the idiom in a variety of ways. Check out this example with the idiom, “word of
mouth”.

Tip #3:
Make a list of business idioms in your notepad to help you organize and remember them. Or even
better, use this flashcard app to store them. Practice 5 minutes a day, and you’ll soon see a difference
in your idiom repertoire.

Tip #4:
When you review idioms create sentences with them, as opposed to focusing on the definition. This
will help you become more spontaneous when applying them in your speech.

Tip #5:
Listen and look for idioms when you study podcasts and articles in English. If a phrase doesn’t make
sense literally, there’s a good chance that it’s an idiom. Before looking up the meaning, try to work it
out in context – a very important skill for language learners.

Conclusion
If your goal is to improve fluency and communicate more effectively with native speakers, spending
some time learning idioms will help you achieve this.
Start taking action today: Learn the 10 business idioms above, which native speakers commonly use in
day-to-day business situations.
Then set yourself the goal of learning 1 business idiom a day for the next 4 weeks. As a result, you’ll
know 28 new idioms!
Which idioms do you like to use? Are there any you hear frequently at work? Make a comment below!