# Advanced Vocabulary 17: Business, Economy, And Workplace News

LLMS index: [llms.txt](/en/llms.txt)

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# Advanced Vocabulary 17: Business, Economy, And Workplace News

Date: 2026-05-27  
Category: english-writing

## Summary

This note collects advanced vocabulary from class about business news, workplace changes, economic pressure, layoffs, gas prices, and problem-solving. The goal is to make these words easier to review, understand in context, and use naturally in speaking or writing.

## Key Points

- Many of these words are common in news, business articles, and workplace discussions.
- Some words describe economic changes, such as prices rising, companies cutting jobs, or markets dropping.
- Some words describe emotional reactions, workplace culture, or difficult situations.
- Example sentences matter because several words have different meanings depending on context.
- Pronunciation notes help avoid common mistakes with company and app names.

## Decisions / Conclusions

- Save this as a separate English vocabulary review note in the `english-writing` category.
- Keep the same grouped-table style as the existing vocabulary notes.
- Clean up grammar in example sentences while preserving the original meaning.

## Open Questions

- None.

## Next Steps

- Review one section at a time.
- Practice making your own sentence for each word.
- Pay special attention to words that can be both literal and figurative, such as `steep`, `slam`, `fuel`, and `stir`.
- Practice full phrases from business news, such as `frenzied turnover`, `sweeten the deal`, and `reversal of fortune`.

## How to Review

1. Cover the `Advanced vocab` column and try to recall the word from the simple phrase.
2. Read the meaning and create one sentence.
3. Mark words that feel hard and review only those next time.
4. For phrase-based vocabulary, practice the whole phrase, not only the main word.

## Business, Work, And Company Terms

| # | Simple phrase | Advanced vocab | Meaning / usage |
| --: | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | confusing or difficult problem | conundrum | a confusing or difficult problem; often used when there is no easy answer |
| 2 | mixed home and office work | hybrid work | a work model that combines working from home and working in the office |
| 3 | company profit / main point | bottom line | a company's profit after expenses; can also mean the most important point |
| 4 | reduce size or amount | scale back | to reduce the size, amount, or scope of something |
| 5 | majority / main part | bulk | the majority or main part of something |
| 6 | ordinary workers | rank and file | ordinary workers or members of an organization, excluding leadership |
| 7 | too satisfied and not improving | complacent | overly satisfied with the current situation, so effort or improvement decreases |
| 8 | most important | overriding | most important, dominant, or more important than other concerns |
| 9 | not revealed | undisclosed | not made public or not revealed |
| 10 | layoff pay | severance | money or benefits paid to employees when they are laid off |
| 11 | important person | heavyweight | an important, powerful, or influential person in a field |
| 12 | layoffs | job cuts | reductions in the number of employees |

## Economy, Prices, And Numbers

| # | Simple phrase | Advanced vocab | Meaning / usage |
| --: | --- | --- | --- |
| 13 | sudden increase | surge | a sudden increase in number, price, demand, or activity |
| 14 | sudden irregular movement | lurch | a sudden, awkward, or irregular movement or change |
| 15 | lose or get rid of | shed | to lose or get rid of something, such as jobs, weight, or subscribers |
| 16 | drop sharply | plummet | to fall or decrease very quickly, often used for stock prices, sales, or temperatures |
| 17 | increase very rapidly | skyrocket | to increase very quickly, often about prices, costs, or growth numbers |
| 18 | very high price / sharp slope | steep | very high, especially for prices; also describes a sharp physical slope |
| 19 | very large amount | whopping | very large, especially before a number |
| 20 | increase three times | triple | to become three times as much or increase something three times |
| 21 | difficult shortage or pressure | crunch | a difficult situation caused by shortage, pressure, or limited resources |
| 22 | near future | near-term | related to the near future |
| 23 | high gas-price pressure | pain at the pumps | difficulty people feel from expensive gasoline prices |

## Problems, Pressure, And Change

| # | Simple phrase | Advanced vocab | Meaning / usage |
| --: | --- | --- | --- |
| 24 | unexpected problem | curveball | an unexpected event or problem that disrupts plans |
| 25 | make a situation stronger or worse | fuel | to intensify something; often means making a negative situation worse |
| 26 | continue forcefully | rage on | to continue with force, violence, or intensity |
| 27 | act quickly under pressure | scramble | to act quickly, often in a difficult or urgent situation |
| 28 | increase or strengthen | ramp up | to increase, strengthen, or expand something |
| 29 | solve or deal with a problem | address | to start dealing with or trying to solve a problem |
| 30 | control or limit something harmful | curb | to control, reduce, or limit something harmful |
| 31 | begin and continue | set in | to begin and seem likely to continue for a long time |
| 32 | one thing is more important | outweigh | to be more important, valuable, or significant than something else |

## Communication, Ideas, And Meaning

| # | Simple phrase | Advanced vocab | Meaning / usage |
| --: | --- | --- | --- |
| 33 | friendly joking conversation | banter | friendly, playful conversation or joking |
| 34 | treated as absolute truth | gospel | something treated as unquestionably true, even if it may not be |
| 35 | nonsense speech | gibberish | speech or writing that has no clear meaning; nonsense |
| 36 | criticize harshly | slam | to criticize harshly; also means to shut something loudly and forcefully |
| 37 | cause movement or emotion | stir | to cause an emotion, reaction, movement, or action |

## Emotions, Difficulty, And Outlook

| # | Simple phrase | Advanced vocab | Meaning / usage |
| --: | --- | --- | --- |
| 38 | difficult and frightening | daunting | difficult or frightening in a way that makes you feel less confident |
| 39 | not hopeful | bleak | not hopeful, discouraging, or depressing |
| 40 | deep anxiety | angst | a feeling of deep anxiety, worry, or emotional tension |

## Corrected Example Sentences

| Vocabulary | Natural sentence |
| --- | --- |
| bottom line | Adopting this new technology will improve the bottom line. |
| bulk | The bulk of the work has already been done. |
| banter | We bantered with our waitress. / There was friendly cafeteria banter. |
| outweigh | My desire for success outweighs my fear of failure. |
| complacent | Companies should not grow complacent after early success. |
| overriding | The overriding need is to keep people safe. |
| steep | You must be an experienced skier to ski down such a steep mountain. |
| steep | The private club charges a steep price. |
| stir | She was stirred by the sad story. |
| pain at the pumps | Many drivers are feeling pain at the pumps because gas prices are high. |
| whopping | The company reported a whopping 30% increase in sales. |
| rage on | The storm raged all night. / The war raged on for over two years. |
| scramble | Lawmakers are scrambling to find a solution. |
| ramp up | The company plans to ramp up production next month. |
| slam | The film was slammed by critics. |
| curb | You need to learn to curb your anger. |

## Usage Notes And Common Mistakes

| Topic | Note |
| --- | --- |
| adopt vs adopting | At the beginning of a sentence, use the gerund: `Adopting this new technology will improve the bottom line.` |
| desire vs desires | Use singular if you mean one main desire: `My desire for success outweighs my fear of failure.` |
| outweighs | With singular subject `desire`, use `outweighs`, not `outweigh`. |
| experienced | Say `an experienced skier`, not `a very experience skier`. `Experienced` is the adjective. |
| banter | `Banter` can be a noun or a verb: `office banter`; `we bantered with them`. |
| slam | `Slam` can mean criticize harshly or close something loudly. Context decides the meaning. |
| steep | `Steep` can describe a mountain/slope or a very high price. |
| address pronunciation | As a verb, `address` usually stresses the second syllable: ad-DRESS. As a noun, it usually stresses the first syllable: AD-dress. |
| little hope | `There is little hope` means almost no hope, so it sounds negative. |
| a little hope | `There is a little hope` means some hope, so it sounds more positive. |

## Sensitive Or Context-Specific Words

| Word / phrase | Why to be careful |
| --- | --- |
| gospel | Can relate to religion, but in business/news it often means something treated as absolute truth. Use carefully depending on context. |
| angst | Describes inner anxiety or emotional tension. It is not the same as `daunting`, which describes something difficult or intimidating. |
| job cuts | A softer/business-news way to say layoffs, but it still refers to people losing jobs. |
| severance | Only use when talking about layoff or termination pay, not normal salary. |
| fuel | Often means making a bad situation worse, such as fueling anger, inflation, or conflict. |
| slam | Can sound strong because it means harsh criticism. |

## Traffic And Road Conditions

| Simple phrase | Advanced vocab | Meaning / usage | Natural example |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| tangled, messy, or blocked | snarled | Tangled, messy, blocked, or congested. It can describe hair or traffic. | Traffic was snarled by lane closures. |
| road or business closing | closure | The closing of something, especially a road, lane, bridge, or business. | The bridge closure caused delays. |
| closed road lane | lane closure | When one or more lanes on a road are closed. | Several lane closures will affect the evening commute. |
| car driver | motorist | A driver of a car. `Motorists` means drivers as a group. | Motorists should expect delays this weekend. |
| going west | westbound | Going toward the west. | The westbound lanes will be closed through the weekend. |
| regular trip to work or school | commute | The regular trip between home and work or school. | The evening commute was delayed by construction. |
| long section or period | stretch | A long section of road, land, or water. It can also mean a period of time. | Crews are repairing a six-mile stretch of highway. |
| six-mile-long section | six-mile stretch | A six-mile-long section of road, land, or water. | A six-mile stretch of the road will be closed. |

## Bridge And Infrastructure Vocabulary

| Simple phrase | Advanced vocab | Meaning / usage | Natural example |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| door or gate connector | hinge | A metal part that allows a door, gate, or lid to swing open and closed. | The door hinge is squeaking. |
| support or safety bar | railing | A bar or fence people can hold for support or safety. | Hold on to the railing when you go down the stairs. |
| rainwater street drain | storm drain | A drain that carries rainwater away from streets or roads. | Leaves blocked the storm drain after the storm. |
| official speaker | spokesperson | A person who speaks officially for a company, organization, or government agency. | A city spokesperson said the repairs will take place this weekend. |
| physically demanding | strenuous | Requiring a lot of physical effort or energy. | Repairing the bridge can be strenuous work. |

## Traffic And Infrastructure Expressions

| Expression | Meaning / usage | Natural example |
| --- | --- | --- |
| closed through the weekend | Closed from now until the end of the weekend. | The bridge will be closed through the weekend. |
| down the drain | Wasted or lost. | All that money went down the drain. |
| worsen | To become worse or to make something worse. | The lane closures could worsen traffic. |
| take place | To happen or occur, often for planned events. | Where did the party take place? |
| subject to change | May change later. | The schedule is subject to change. |

## Traffic And Infrastructure Key Concepts

- Road-condition vocabulary includes `snarled`, `lane closures`, `motorists`, `commute`, `westbound`, and `stretch`.
- Bridge-repair vocabulary includes `hinge`, `railing`, `storm drain`, `spokesperson`, and `strenuous`.
- Formal expressions include `take place`, `subject to change`, `closed through the weekend`, and directional words with `bound`, such as `westbound`.

## Labor Market And Hiring

| Simple phrase | Advanced vocab | Meaning / usage | Natural example |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| employees leaving a company | turnover | The number or rate of workers who leave a company and are replaced. | The company has a low turnover rate. |
| few employees leave | low turnover rate | A situation where few workers leave the company. | A low turnover rate usually means employees are satisfied. |
| fast or chaotic employee movement | frenzied turnover | Very rapid or chaotic movement of employees between jobs. | The job market had frenzied turnover last year. |
| wages rising quickly | rapid wage growth | Wages increasing quickly over a short period. | Rapid wage growth may slow down soon. |
| become weaker | abate | To lessen, weaken, or become less intense. | The storm finally abated. |
| temporary stop in hiring | hiring freeze | A temporary company decision to stop hiring new employees. | The company announced a hiring freeze. |
| completely stop hiring | freeze hiring altogether | To stop all hiring, not just reduce it. | Some companies have frozen hiring altogether. |
| all company workers | workforce | All the people working for a company, industry, or country. | The company reduced its workforce by 13%. |

## Competition, Deals, And Market Trends

| Simple phrase | Advanced vocab | Meaning / usage | Natural example |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| intense competition | steep competition | Strong or difficult competition. | Startups face steep competition. |
| outdoor advertising sign | billboard | A large outdoor sign used for advertising. | The company advertised on a billboard. |
| make something increase | drive up | To cause prices, demand, or numbers to increase. | High demand drove up prices. |
| make an offer better | sweeten the deal | To make an offer more attractive. | They offered free delivery to sweeten the deal. |
| extremely high | through the roof | Extremely high, especially for prices, costs, or emotions. | Housing prices went through the roof. |
| gradually become weaker | die down | To become less strong, loud, active, or exciting. | The excitement eventually died down. |
| situation has reversed | the tables have turned | The situation has changed so the opposite side now has the advantage. | Last year employees had power, but now the tables have turned. |
| become less exciting | lose its sizzle | To become less exciting, attractive, or strong. | The job market may be losing its sizzle. |

## Company Layoffs And Financial Changes

| Simple phrase | Advanced vocab | Meaning / usage | Natural example |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| cut staff | reduce its workforce | To lay off workers or reduce the number of employees. | Meta reduced its workforce by 13%. |
| cut greatly | slash | To cut greatly; it can also mean to cut violently with a knife. | The company slashed prices. / Someone slashed the tires. |
| shocking or surprising | stunning | Shocking, amazing, impressive, or surprising. | The company had a stunning reversal of fortune. |
| shocked | be stunned | To be very shocked or surprised. | I was stunned by the news. |
| complete change of luck | reversal of fortune | A complete change from success to trouble, or from trouble to success. | The layoffs marked a reversal of fortune. |
| formerly | once | Formerly; at some time in the past. | The once famous actor now lives quietly. |
| very successful | high-flying | Very successful, especially in business or careers. | It was once a high-flying tech company. |
| expensive or generous | lavish | Large, expensive, impressive, or generous. | They had a lavish wedding. |
| in an expensive way | lavishly | In an expensive, generous, or impressive way. | The office was lavishly decorated. |

## Perks, Growth, And Scrutiny

| Simple phrase | Advanced vocab | Meaning / usage | Natural example |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| build up over time | accumulate | To collect, gather, or build up over time. | Snow accumulated overnight. |
| give someone a lot | shower someone with something | To give someone a large amount of something. | The company showered employees with perks. |
| desirable | enviable | So good that other people would like to have it. | She has an enviable job. |
| extra work benefit | perk | An extra benefit beyond salary. | Free meals are a nice company perk. |
| close examination | scrutiny | Close examination, attention, or investigation. | The company faced media scrutiny. |
| examine carefully | scrutinize | To examine something carefully. | The policy was scrutinized by regulators. |
| damage slightly | dent | To damage, weaken, or harm something. | The scandal dented the company's reputation. |
| business income | revenue | Money a business receives from sales or services. | The company's revenue increased. |
| rise quickly | soar | To rise quickly to a high level. | Food prices soared. |
| one million million | trillion | One million million; 1,000 billion. | Meta was once valued at one trillion dollars. |

## Advanced Phrasal Verbs

| Phrase | Meaning / usage | Natural example |
| --- | --- | --- |
| grapple with | To try hard to deal with a difficult problem. | The company is grappling with slower growth. |
| play out | To develop or end in a particular way. | I wonder how this situation will play out. |

## Business News Sentences To Memorize

1. Unemployment is low and hiring is strong, but frenzied turnover and rapid wage growth are abating.
2. The company slashed its workforce after revenue growth slowed.
3. Meta was once a high-flying company that showered employees with enviable perks.
4. The company is grappling with a decline in digital advertising revenue.
5. I wonder how this situation will play out.

## Pronunciation Notes

| Word / phrase | Note |
| --- | --- |
| Facebook | The `oo` sounds like `book`, `look`, and `took`, not like the `oo` in `moon`. |
| Instagram | The first `a` is reduced, like a schwa sound: `Insta-gram`. |
| WhatsApp | Ends with the `app` sound: `Let's talk on WhatsApp.` |
| what's up | Ends with the `up` sound: `Hey John, what's up?` |

## Review List

- snarled
- lane closure
- motorist
- westbound
- stretch
- hinge
- railing
- storm drain
- down the drain
- worsen
- take place
- subject to change
- turnover
- frenzied turnover
- rapid wage growth
- abate
- steep competition
- drive up
- sweeten the deal
- through the roof
- die down
- the tables have turned
- lose its sizzle
- workforce
- hiring freeze
- slash
- stunning
- reversal of fortune
- once
- high-flying
- lavish
- accumulate
- shower someone with something
- enviable
- perk
- scrutiny
- dent
- revenue
- soar
- grapple with
- play out

## Mini Practice

Rewrite these simple sentences using the vocabulary from this note:

1. The company had a confusing problem with no easy answer.
2. Gas prices increased very quickly this month.
3. The company reduced the size of the project.
4. Most of the work has already been finished.
5. The news made investors feel not hopeful.
6. Lawmakers are trying to act quickly to solve the issue.
7. The price of the private club is very high.
8. There is some hope that the situation will improve.
9. There is almost no hope that the situation will improve.
10. The unexpected problem disrupted our plan.
11. The company temporarily stopped hiring new employees.
12. High demand caused prices to increase.
13. The offer became more attractive after they added free delivery.
14. The company gave employees many extra benefits.
15. I want to know how the situation will develop.