- business
- noun1 buying and selling of goodsADJECTIVE▪ big▪ profitable▪ private▪ core▪
It's time to focus on the company's core business.
▪ retail, wholesale▪ online▪Supermarkets are doing more online business.
▪ competitive, tough▪Retail is a tough business.
▪ catering, computer, consulting, insurance, investment, etc.▪He spent his whole life in the insurance business.
▪ entertainment, movie (esp. AmE), music, newspaper▪We're not trying to educate—we're in the entertainment business.
VERB + BUSINESS▪ carry on (often law), conduct, do, transact (formal)▪a company that has ceased to carry on business
▪He's someone I can do business with (= that I find it easy to deal with).
▪ work in▪She works in the computer business.
▪ go into, set up in▪ go out of▪The company went out of business during the recession.
▪ put sb/sth out of▪The new regulations will put many small companies out of business.
▪ help▪He argues that tax cuts will help business.
▪ understand▪Nobody understands the music business better than him.
BUSINESS + NOUN▪ deal, transaction▪ opportunity, venture▪ meeting▪ lunch▪ travel, trip▪ person (see also businessman, businesswoman)▪ traveller/traveler▪ expense▪Meals are considered a business expense.
▪ community, sector, world▪ executive, leader, manager▪a conference of women business leaders
▪ associate, partner▪ contact▪ relationship▪They developed a lasting business relationship.
▪ affairs, interests, matters▪ decision▪It was purely a business decision.
▪ ethics▪ development▪ investment▪ secret▪to protect business secrets
▪ model, plan, strategy▪a business model for using electronic commerce
▪ practice▪It's good business practice to listen to your customers.
▪ acumen▪ card▪ attire (esp. AmE), suit▪He wore a business suit.
▪ hours▪You can call the helpline during normal business hours.
▪ school▪ studies▪ major (AmE)▪ park▪The company's offices are located in the new business park out of town.
▪ district▪the city's main business district
PREPOSITION▪ in business▪He's in business.
▪What business are you in?
▪All we need is a car and we'll be in business (= we'll have everything we need to start what we want to do).
▪ on business▪I'm going to Paris on business.
PHRASES▪ business as usual (= things will continue as normal in spite of a difficult situation)▪It's business as usual at the factory.
▪ business or pleasure▪Is the trip to Rome business or pleasure?
▪ mix business with pleasure▪When I travel overseas I like to mix business with pleasure.
▪ my, his, her etc. own business▪He left the department to start his own business.
▪ a place of business2 amount of trade doneADJECTIVE▪ brisk, good▪Business was brisk and they had sold out by midday.
▪ bad, slack (esp. BrE), slow▪ new▪They've cut their rates to attract new business.
▪ repeat▪Our repeat business is 50% or higher.
VERB + BUSINESS▪ do▪They're doing good business in Asia.
▪ attract, drum up, generate▪She's in Europe drumming up business for her new company.
▪ tout for (BrE)▪insurance salesmen touting for business
▪ affect, hurt▪Cheap imports are hurting business for domestic producers.
▪ lose▪We're losing business to our main rivals.
▪ handle▪We took on temporary staff to handle the extra business.
BUSINESS + VERB▪ boom, grow▪Business is booming for the big pharmaceutical companies.
▪ pick up▪After a slack period, business is now picking up.
▪ slow, slow down▪Business has slowed considerably in recent months.
3 commercial organizationADJECTIVE▪ large, medium-sized, small▪ new▪loans for people to start new businesses
▪ family, family-owned▪ global, international, local▪ private▪ state-owned▪ booming, lucrative, profitable, successful, thriving, viable▪The family owns a booming construction business.
▪ Internet, online, Web▪She runs a successful online business.
▪ traditional▪Traditional businesses are having to compete with the Internet.
▪ mail-order, retail, wholesale▪ catering, grocery (esp. AmE), hairdressing, restaurant, etc.▪She had her own hairdressing business.
▪ legitimate▪These laws make life more difficult for legitimate businesses.
VERB + BUSINESS▪ have, own▪ manage, operate, run▪It was always my dream to run my own business.
▪ establish, launch, set up, start▪They decided to start their own business.
▪ build, build up▪We built up the business from nothing.
▪ expand, grow▪We are looking to grow the business over the next couple of years.
▪ work in▪He works in the family business.
▪ enter, join▪After leaving school she entered the family business.
▪ leave▪ buy, take over▪ sellBUSINESS + VERB▪ do well, flourish, succeed, take off, thrive▪After six months the business really took off.
▪ expand, grow▪The business is expanding fast.
▪ collapse, fail▪ be based in▪He owns a management consulting business based in Santa Barbara.
BUSINESS + NOUN▪ assets, premises▪ failure▪ owner4 work/responsibilityADJECTIVE▪ daily▪ real▪He needs time and space to get on with the real business of writing.
VERB + BUSINESS▪ get on with, go about▪market traders going about their daily business
▪ make sth▪I shall make it my business to find out who is responsible.
PHRASES▪ have no business doing sth, have no business to do sth (esp. BrE)▪You have no business (= no right) being here.
▪ keep your nose out of sb's business, mind your own business▪Keep your nose out of my business!
▪‘What are you reading?’ ‘Mind your own business!’
▪I was just sitting there, minding my own business, when a man started shouting at me.
▪ no business of yours, none of your business▪My private life is none of your business (= does not concern you).
5 important mattersADJECTIVE▪ private▪ important, pressing, urgent▪ official▪This isn't a social call—I've come on official business.
▪ unfinished▪We have some unfinished business to discuss.
VERB + BUSINESS▪ get down to▪OK, let's get down to business.
▪ deal with, discuss, talk▪I'm not going to talk business tonight.
▪ finish▪Jack and I finished our business early, so we went to lunch.
PHRASES▪ any other business (= items discussed at the end of a meeting)▪I think we've finished item four. Now, is there any other business?
▪ mean business (= be serious about doing something)▪He says he's going to make changes, and I think he means business.
6 situation/eventADJECTIVE▪ whole▪I'll be glad when the whole business is over and done with.
▪ dirty, messy▪I'm just glad to be out of the whole dirty business.
▪ bad, sorry, terrible (all esp. BrE)▪It was a bad business—he couldn't work for months.
▪ funny, strange (esp. BrE)▪ dangerous, risky, tricky▪Changing your life can be a risky business.
▪ serious▪Having fun is a serious business.
Collocations dictionary. 2013.
