Finance and Economics

Business and the Economy Vocabulary: Word List and Examples Learn B2-level vocabulary for discussing companies, markets, and economic trends. Word List revenue (total income), profit margin, expenditure (spending), stakeholder (anyone affected by a business), shareholder (owns company shares), merger (two companies combining), acquisition (buying another company), subsidiary, monopoly, competitor, market share, supply and demand, inflation, recession, recovery, GDP (Gross Domestic Product), deficit, surplus, tariff (a tax on imports), trade, export, import, entrepreneur, startup, venture capital, investor, dividend (a portion of profit paid to shareholders), portfolio, asset, liability, bankruptcy, insolvency, liquidate (sell off assets), outsource (hire outside the company), downsize (reduce staff), layoff, productivity, overhead (ongoing business expenses), turnover (total sales, or staff replacement rate), consumer, commodity (a basic tradeable good). Examples: The company’s revenue grew by 15% despite the recession. They announced a merger with their main competitor. Inflation has made everyday commodities more expensive. The startup secured venture capital to expand into new markets. Remember: «turnover» has two meanings — total sales (business turnover) and the rate at which staff leave (staff turnover) — context determines which applies.