Business terms tend to arrive in your inbox before anyone explains them: a manager mentions cadence, a bank letter mentions collateral, a news anchor talks about attrition or a recession. Each page in this section unpacks one of these words in everyday language.
The words fall into a few natural families: how offices run, how people are hired and paid, how money is borrowed and held, and how whole economies rise and fall. Below you will find each family with a short list, a worked example, and pointers on which words are easy to mix up.
Entry at a glance
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Workplace, HR and pay, banking and lending, investing, the economyWord count
About fifty word pagesBest for
New employees, students of commerce, small business ownersRegister
Mostly formal and professionalLatin terms
Per diem, ad hoc and others, explainedNote
General information only, not financial advice
Workplace business terms you hear in meetings
Office language borrows words from engineering, sport and the military, and gives them new jobs. Most can be replaced with plainer words, but you still need to understand them when others use them.
- cadence: the regular rhythm of a meeting, report or release
- leverage: to use something you have to gain more
- agile: working in short cycles and adjusting as you go
- ad hoc: arranged for one purpose, not planned in advance
- accountability: being answerable for a task and its result
- logistics: the detailed planning of moving goods or people
- procurement: the process of buying what an organization needs
Some sound fancier than they are. A weekly cadence is simply a weekly meeting, and an ad hoc committee is a group set up for one job.
Hiring, pay and leaving a job
Human resources has its own vocabulary, and several of these words decide what you are paid or how long you stay.
- compensation: everything you receive for your work, not just salary
- stipend: a fixed allowance, often for interns, trainees or students
- per diem: a daily amount paid for expenses while traveling
- tenure: the time you hold a job, or a permanent academic post
- attrition: the gradual loss of staff who are not replaced
- furlough: temporary leave, usually unpaid, ordered by the employer
- sabbatical: an extended break from work, often for study or rest
- resume: a summary of your work history and skills
In India and Britain, people often say CV where Americans say resume, while in the US a CV usually means a longer academic record; the resume page explains the difference. blue collar and white collar describe manual and office work.
Borrowing, banking and security
Lending words come in clusters, because a loan involves several pieces at once.
| Term | What it is |
|---|---|
| mortgage | A loan to buy property, secured by that property |
| collateral | An asset the lender can claim if you do not repay |
| escrow | Money or documents held by a neutral third party until conditions are met |
| credit / debit | Money added to an account / money taken out |
| lien | A legal claim on property until a debt is paid |
| annuity | A series of regular payments, often bought for retirement |
A worked example: buying a first flat
Seeing the terms in one story helps them stick.
Five business terms, one ordinary week. Each has its own page: due diligence explains the checking step in more depth, and the law section covers related legal words.
Investing and returns
These words describe what you own and how it performs.
- portfolio: the full set of investments a person or fund holds
- yield: the income an investment produces, usually as a percentage
- volatile: likely to change quickly and unpredictably
- equity: ownership value, such as shares or the part of a home you own outright
- aggregate: a total formed by combining many parts
- deferred: put off until a later date
- fiduciary: someone legally bound to act in another's best interest
The economy in the headlines
Big-picture words describe whole markets and countries. inflation is a general rise in prices over time, which means each unit of money buys less. A recession is a significant fall in economic activity that lasts for months. A monopoly exists when one seller controls a market. tariff means a tax on imported goods, and its page covers why it is debated. prosperity and revenue round out the set, along with money laundering, the crime of disguising where illegal money came from.
Business words people confuse
- Revenue vs profit. Revenue is all money coming in; profit is what is left after costs.
- Credit vs debit. On your bank statement, a credit adds to your balance and a debit takes away. Accounting ledgers use the words in a more technical way.
- Retention vs attrition. retention is keeping staff or customers; attrition is losing them gradually.
- Entrepreneur vs enterprise. An entrepreneur is a person who starts a business; an enterprise is the business, or a bold project.
- niche. In business it means a small, specialized market. Some speakers say nitch and others neesh; both are accepted.
Back to all word meanings, or browse everyday vocabulary.
Frequently asked questions
What are the most common business terms to learn first?
Start with revenue, budget, compensation, deadline words like cadence, and loan words like mortgage and collateral. These come up in nearly every workplace and in personal banking.
What does per diem mean on a travel claim?
Per diem is Latin for per day. On a claim, it is a fixed daily allowance for meals and small costs while you travel for work, so you do not need a receipt for each coffee.
Is a stipend the same as a salary?
No. A stipend is a fixed allowance, often for interns, trainees, researchers or volunteers, and it is usually smaller than a salary. Tax treatment depends on the country and the arrangement.
What is the difference between equity and debt?
Equity is ownership; debt is money owed. A company raising equity sells part of itself, while one taking on debt borrows money it must repay with interest.
Why do offices use so much jargon?
Jargon is a shortcut between people who share a context. It becomes a problem when outsiders or new staff cannot follow it, which is why plain explanations help.
Does this section give financial advice?
No. It explains what money words mean. For advice on your own situation, talk to a qualified adviser.