Business English: 300 Words and Phrases, with Register

Knowing a phrase is not enough. Using a chat phrase in a client email is its own mistake.

300 cardsLast updated 2026-08-31

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Ping me when it is ready works in a message to a colleague and reads badly in a letter to a client. Please do not hesitate to contact me is the reverse: correct in formal writing and stilted in a team chat. Learners who study business vocabulary as a flat list end up fluent and tonally wrong, which is a harder problem to notice than a missing word. This deck is 300 cards, one word or fixed expression per card, with the back giving the sense in plain English and, where it applies, a line on how formal it is and where it is used, whether that is email, a meeting, a report or speech only. The sections cover meetings and discussion, email and correspondence, projects and processes, finance and reporting, negotiation and clients, and people and organisation. General idioms with no workplace use are left out, and where a term is mainly British or mainly American the register line says so. Once the deck is on a spaced-repetition schedule, the expressions you use confidently stop coming back and the ones whose register you keep misjudging return until you stop misjudging them.

What happens when you add it

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Each card gets its own schedule, based on how well you actually recall it.
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What's inside

Showing 100 representative cards from the full 300-card deck.

Front	Back
the agenda — what is it?	The list of items to be discussed at a meeting. Neutral. Used in writing and speech.
attendees — what is it?	The people present at a meeting. Formal. Standard in minutes and calendar invitations.
to take the minutes — what is it?	To write the record of a meeting. Neutral. Spoken and written.
any other business — what is it?	A final agenda item for matters not listed. Formal. Often abbreviated in agendas.
to go over — what is it?	To examine or review something. Neutral. Mainly spoken.
to flesh out — what is it?	To add detail to an outline or rough idea. Informal to neutral. Common in project discussion.
to take something offline — what is it?	To discuss something separately after the meeting. Informal. Spoken, common in corporate settings.
to circle back — what is it?	To return to a topic later. Informal. Spoken and in internal email.
to interrupt — what is it?	To stop someone in the middle of speaking. Neutral. The verb itself is neutral, though interrupting may not be.
to let someone finish — what is it?	To allow a speaker to complete a point. Neutral. Spoken.
I take your point — what is it?	I accept what you are saying. Neutral to formal. Spoken, often before a disagreement.
to be in favour of — what is it?	To support a proposal. Formal. Spoken and written.
with respect — what is it?	A phrase signalling polite disagreement. Formal. Spoken. It often precedes a firm objection.
to push back — what is it?	To resist or challenge a proposal. Informal. Spoken and in internal email.
to devil's advocate — what is it?	To argue an opposing view in order to test an idea. Informal. Spoken, usually with the phrase play devil's advocate.
to sum up — what is it?	To state the main points briefly at the end. Neutral. Spoken and written.
the upshot — what is it?	The final result or conclusion. Informal to neutral. Spoken and written.
an action point — what is it?	A specific task assigned during a meeting. Neutral. Standard in minutes.
to follow up — what is it?	To check on progress or take a further step. Neutral. Spoken and written.
to report back — what is it?	To return with information after investigating. Neutral. Spoken and written.
Dear Sir or Madam — what is it?	A formal opening used when the recipient is unknown. Formal. Written only, and increasingly dated.
Further to our conversation — what is it?	An opening that refers back to an earlier discussion. Formal. Written.
Just a quick note to — what is it?	An informal opening for a short message. Informal. Internal email only.
Kind regards — what is it?	A standard polite sign-off. Neutral. Email, safe in almost any context.
Yours faithfully — what is it?	A formal closing used when the recipient is not named. Formal. Letters, British convention only.
I look forward to hearing from you — what is it?	A closing that invites a reply. Formal. Email and letters.
Could you please — what is it?	A polite way to introduce a request. Neutral to formal. Email and speech.
Would you mind — what is it?	A polite request form followed by a verb ending in ing. Neutral. Spoken and email.
Please find attached — what is it?	A phrase introducing an attached file. Formal. Email only.
to forward — what is it?	To send a received message on to someone else. Neutral. Email.
for your information — what is it?	Sent so you are aware, with no action required. Neutral. Email, often abbreviated.
a gentle reminder — what is it?	A polite prompt about something outstanding. Neutral. Email. It is often not gentle in effect.
as a reminder — what is it?	A phrase restating something already communicated. Neutral. Email.
I apologise for the delay — what is it?	A formal apology for a late response. Formal. Email.
We regret to inform you — what is it?	A formal phrase introducing bad news. Formal. Letters and formal email.
I am afraid — what is it?	A softener introducing a refusal or bad news. Neutral. Spoken and email.
just to clarify — what is it?	A phrase introducing a correction or clarification. Neutral. Email and speech.
as far as I am aware — what is it?	A hedge indicating limited knowledge. Neutral. Email and speech.
a heads up — what is it?	An advance warning. Informal. Internal email and speech.
to touch base — what is it?	To make brief contact to check progress. Informal. Spoken and internal email.
to run something past someone — what is it?	To ask someone's opinion before proceeding. Informal to neutral. Spoken and email.
will do — what is it?	A short confirmation that you will act. Informal. Internal email and speech.
the scope — what is it?	The agreed boundaries of what a project will deliver. Formal. Written, central to project documents.
a change request — what is it?	A formal proposal to alter the agreed scope. Formal. Written.
a deliverable — what is it?	A specific item a project must produce. Formal. Written, standard in project management.
a milestone — what is it?	A significant point marking progress in a project. Formal. Written and spoken.
a work stream — what is it?	A grouping of related tasks running alongside others. Formal. Used in larger projects.
a dependency — what is it?	A task that cannot start until another finishes. Formal. Written.
a bottleneck — what is it?	A point where flow is restricted and work backs up. Neutral. Spoken and written.
the deadline — what is it?	The date by which something must be finished. Neutral. Universal.
to slip — what is it?	To move later than planned. Neutral. Spoken and in reports.
to be on track — what is it?	To be progressing as planned. Neutral. Status reports and speech.
to push back a date — what is it?	To move a date later. Informal to neutral. Spoken and email.
a risk — what is it?	Something that might go wrong and affect the project. Formal. Written.
a contingency — what is it?	A reserve of time or money held for unexpected problems. Formal. Planning and finance.
to escalate — what is it?	To raise a matter to a more senior level. Formal. Written and spoken.
a stakeholder — what is it?	Anyone affected by or able to influence a project. Formal. Written and spoken.
to sign off — what is it?	To formally approve something. Neutral to formal. Written and spoken.
a handover — what is it?	The transfer of work or responsibility to another person or team. Neutral. Written and spoken.
a post-mortem — what is it?	A review after a project or incident to learn from it. Informal to neutral. Also called a retrospective.
resourcing — what is it?	The assignment of people and budget to work. Formal. Written and spoken.
revenue — what is it?	The total income from sales before any costs are deducted. Formal. Financial reporting.
overheads — what is it?	Ongoing costs not tied to a specific product or sale. Formal. Mainly British usage, with overhead in American usage.
a budget — what is it?	A plan for income and spending over a period. Neutral to formal. Universal.
a variance — what is it?	The difference between a planned and an actual figure. Formal. Financial reporting.
a forecast — what is it?	A prediction of future financial performance. Formal. Reporting and planning.
margin — what is it?	The difference between revenue and cost, usually as a percentage. Formal. Finance and sales.
an invoice — what is it?	A document requesting payment for goods or services. Formal. Universal in commerce.
a purchase order — what is it?	A document authorising a purchase, issued before the invoice. Formal. Procurement, often abbreviated.
a quote — what is it?	A stated price for specified work. Neutral to formal. Sales and procurement.
the financial year — what is it?	The twelve-month period used for accounting. Formal. Reporting. It rarely matches the calendar year.
to rise sharply — what is it?	To increase quickly and by a large amount. Neutral. Reports and presentations.
to bottom out — what is it?	To reach the lowest point before recovering. Informal to neutral. Reports and speech.
a proposal — what is it?	A formal offer setting out what will be done and at what price. Formal. Written.
a value proposition — what is it?	A statement of the benefit a customer receives. Formal. Marketing and sales.
terms and conditions — what is it?	The rules governing an agreement. Formal. Contracts, often abbreviated.
non-negotiable — what is it?	Not open to discussion or change. Neutral to formal. Spoken and written.
to concede — what is it?	To give up a point in a negotiation. Formal. Spoken and written.
to trade off — what is it?	To accept less of one thing in return for more of another. Neutral. Spoken and written.
deadlock — what is it?	A situation in which neither side will move. Formal. Written and spoken.
to sign a contract — what is it?	To formally agree to a set of terms. Neutral to formal. Universal.
a notice period — what is it?	The warning time required before ending an agreement. Formal. Contracts and employment.
an account — what is it?	A client relationship managed by a company. Neutral. Sales and services.
to retain a client — what is it?	To keep a client rather than losing them. Formal. Sales and management.
a complaint — what is it?	A formal expression of dissatisfaction. Neutral to formal. Universal.
a service level agreement — what is it?	A contract specifying the standard of service to be provided. Formal. Contracts, often abbreviated.
a line manager — what is it?	The person you report to directly. Neutral. Mainly British usage.
a dotted line — what is it?	A secondary reporting relationship alongside the main one. Informal to neutral. Management contexts.
a vacancy — what is it?	An unfilled position. Neutral to formal. Recruitment.
a candidate — what is it?	A person being considered for a role. Formal. Recruitment.
onboarding — what is it?	The process of settling a new employee into a role. Neutral to formal. Human resources.
a performance review — what is it?	A formal discussion of how well someone is doing. Formal. Human resources.
an appraisal — what is it?	A formal assessment of an employee's work. Formal. Mainly British usage.
constructive feedback — what is it?	Comments intended to help someone improve. Neutral to formal. Management.
training and development — what is it?	Activities that build employees' skills. Formal. Human resources.
to resign — what is it?	To voluntarily leave a job. Formal. Employment.
a leaving date — what is it?	The last day of employment. Neutral. Human resources.
a restructure — what is it?	A change to the way an organisation is arranged. Formal. Management.
a hiring freeze — what is it?	A temporary halt to recruitment. Neutral to formal. Management.
succession planning — what is it?	Preparing people to fill key roles in future. Formal. Senior management.

Frequently asked

What is in each section of the deck?

Meetings and discussion has 50 cards, email and correspondence 55, projects and processes 50, finance and reporting 50, negotiation and clients 45, and people and organisation 50, for 300 in total. Every card carries section and subtopic tags, so you can drill only email phrases or only finance terms.

What level of English does it assume?

Roughly upper-intermediate. The definitions are in plain English and the examples are short, but the deck assumes you can already hold a conversation and are now working on the vocabulary a workplace uses. It is not a beginner course and does not teach general grammar.

Is it British or American English?

Both, with the difference marked. Where a term is used mainly on one side, such as the words for a bidding process or for redundancy, the register line names which variety it belongs to and gives the other one. Spelling follows British convention throughout.

Can I import the whole deck on the free plan?

Yes. Importing a saved deck runs no new AI generation and does not use your AI allowance, so the free plan imports all 300 cards. You can study, edit and delete them afterwards.

Will importing it twice create duplicates?

No. Cards you already have are skipped and only cards added in a revision come through. Including re-imports after deleting it, one official deck can be imported three times per account.

Can I use it on the web and in the mobile app?

Yes. The deck is added to your account rather than to a device, so the same cards and the same progress are there on the web, on iOS and on Android.

Can I edit the cards after importing?

Yes. Imported cards are yours: you can edit both sides, delete cards you do not need, change tags, and move cards to another deck.