Business jargon is the unofficial language of the workplace—phrases professionals use to communicate ideas, give instructions, and describe everyday tasks. In many cases, these terms could be replaced with simpler, clearer language, but they’ve become so common that they often feel like a second language. While business jargon can facilitate, it is often seen as annoying, pretentious and a barrier to clear communication.
JARGON |
MEANING |
| At the end of the day | The final result |
| Back to the drawing board | Start again after failure |
| Ballpark figure | Rough estimate |
| Bandwidth | The time or capacity to do work |
| Blue sky thinking | Used to describe extremely creative problem-solving and innovative new ideas |
| Boil the ocean | Try to do too much at once and waste a lot of time |
| Bring to the table | Is often used to describe a certain skill or expertise that an individual can offer to a company or project |
| Circle back | Return to a topic, conversation or person at a later time |
| Deep dive | Look at something in great detail |
| Deliverables | The results or outputs expected from work |
| Drill down | Examine something more closely |
| Game changer | Something that significantly changes a situation |
| Giving 110% | Requesting that you exert extra effort into a task |
| Heads-up | Advance warning or notice |
| In the loop | Included and informed about something |
| Lots of moving parts | To describe a system or business with a lot of departments, employees and processes |
| Low-hanging fruit | Easy tasks or quick wins |
| Move the needle | Make a noticeable difference or impact |
| On the same page | Agree or understand things in the same way |
| Out of the loop | Not included or informed |
| Pivot | Change strategy quickly |
| Push the envelope | Go beyond normal limits or try new things |
| Run it up the flagpole | Test an idea to see people’s reactions |
| Take this offline | Discuss something later, not in a meeting |
| Think outside the box | Come up with creative or different ideas |
| Touch base | Make contact or check in with someone |
| Win-win situation | A result where everyone benefits |