Workplace English Glossary

A specific task assigned to one person with a deadline, usually captured at the end of a meeting.

“Action item: Maria to send the revised quote to Acme by Friday.”

The list of topics to cover in a meeting, usually shared in advance. Different from a “schedule” — agendas are about what, not when.

“I've added two items to the agenda for tomorrow's call.”

To agree on direction, priorities, or expectations before moving forward.

“Let's align on scope before we brief the agency.”

“As soon as possible.” Used to flag urgency, but vague — pair with a real deadline if it actually matters.

“Need this draft ASAP — ideally by 4pm today.”

Short for asynchronous — communication that doesn't require both people to be online at the same time (Slack, email, Loom).

“Let's handle the status update async — no need for a meeting.”

The prioritised list of work waiting to be done — features, fixes, ideas. Most software teams keep one in Jira, Linear, or Trello.

“It's on the backlog, but not scheduled for this sprint.”

A recurring meeting to clean up the backlog — clarify, estimate, and prioritise items before they're picked up. Also called “refinement.”

“We do backlog grooming every Wednesday afternoon.”

An approximate figure or rough estimate. Signals you don't need a precise number yet.

“Ballpark, what would this cost — five grand or fifty?”

The capacity (time + mental energy) someone has for new work. Saying you don't have bandwidth is a polite way to decline.

“I don't have bandwidth to take on the audit this week.”

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“Business as usual.” Routine, ongoing work — the opposite of a project or special initiative.

“Once the launch is done, we'll be back to BAU.”

“Blind carbon copy.” Sends an email copy to someone without other recipients seeing their address. Use for privacy or when bulk-emailing.

“BCC'd Legal so the client doesn't know they're looped in.”

Anything stopping you from making progress on a task. Surface blockers early — managers want to unblock, not be surprised.

“My only blocker is access to the staging database.”

To attempt something impossibly broad. A polite way to push back on a scope that's too ambitious to deliver.

“Let's not boil the ocean — start with one segment and expand.”

The slowest step in a process — the constraint that holds everything else up.

“Legal review is the bottleneck on every contract.”

A short written summary of a project's goals, scope, audience, and constraints, usually shared before work starts.

“Can you send me a one-page brief before we kick off?”

What someone contributes — skills, ideas, relationships. Common in interviews and team-formation conversations.

“What do you bring to the table on the operations side?”

“Customer acquisition cost.” The total marketing and sales spend required to win one new customer. Paired with LTV to judge unit economics.

“Our CAC is creeping up — we need to revisit channel mix.”

How often something happens — meetings, check-ins, releases. Used as a polite way to ask “how regular?”

“What cadence works for our 1:1s — weekly or biweekly?”

“Carbon copy.” Sends an email copy to additional people who can see each other. Used to keep someone informed without expecting action.

“CC'ing Sara so she has the context for next week.”

To return to a topic later in the same conversation or in a follow-up. A polite way to defer without ignoring.

“Let's circle back on pricing once we've seen the proposal.”

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To follow up on an open question, decision, or task so nobody is left waiting. Signals reliability.

“Just closing the loop — the contract was signed yesterday.”

“Close of business.” Similar to EOD but typically tied to the sender's office hours, not yours. Often means 5pm or 6pm in their timezone.

“Need this signed off by COB London time.”

“Customer satisfaction.” A metric (usually a 1–5 score) tracking how happy customers are with a specific interaction. Pairs with NPS.

“Our CSAT dropped after the new pricing rolled out.”

“Daily active users” and “monthly active users.” The standard product-engagement metrics. DAU/MAU ratio measures how “sticky” a product is.

“We hit 1M MAU last month, with a 30% DAU/MAU ratio.”

A short meeting after an event, sales call, or interview to review what happened and what to do next. Different from a brief (which comes before).

“Quick debrief after the demo — five minutes max.”

A slide presentation (Google Slides, Keynote, PowerPoint). Often used as a verb: “I'll deck this up.”

“Can you put the Q3 numbers in a deck for the board?”

A detailed exploration of a topic — beyond surface-level. Usually scheduled as a separate session.

“Let's schedule a deep dive on the churn data next week.”

A concrete output you owe someone — a document, deck, feature, report. Has a clear definition of done.

“The deliverable for Friday is the user research report.”

To zoom in on a specific point and discuss it in more detail. Slightly trendy — common in consulting and product circles.

“Can we double-click on the pricing question?”

“Directly responsible individual.” The single person accountable for a project or decision. Popularised by Apple and GitLab. Different from a SPOC (point of contact).

“Who's the DRI on the website redesign?”

To examine a number, finding, or topic in more detail — often into the underlying data. Common in dashboards and reviews.

“Let's drill down on the churn by plan tier.”

“Get your ducks in a row” — get organised, line up your facts/approvals before a meeting or pitch.

“Get your ducks in a row before the board call — they'll grill you on numbers.”

“End of day.” Usually means by the end of the working day in the recipient's timezone — clarify if it matters.

“Please send the draft by EOD Thursday.”

“End of quarter.” Common in sales, finance, and planning conversations.

“We need to close this deal by EOQ.”

“End of week.” Usually means Friday in the sender's timezone.

“I'll have the analysis ready EOW.”

Equity = ownership shares granted as part of compensation. Vesting = the schedule by which you actually earn those shares (typically 4 years with a 1-year cliff).

“My offer is 5,000 RSUs vesting over four years.”

To raise an issue to a more senior person, usually because it can't be resolved at the current level.

“If the vendor doesn't reply today, I'll escalate to their account director.”

“Estimated time of arrival.” Used for delivery dates, draft completion, anything time-bound.

“What's your ETA on the contract redline?”

A second message, meeting, or task that picks up from an earlier one. Used as both noun and verb (“send a follow-up” / “to follow up”).

“I'll follow up on Monday if I don't hear back.”

“For your information.” Signals no action is required — you're just keeping someone in the loop.

“FYI — the client moved the launch date to October.”

Something that meaningfully shifts the situation — a deal, hire, feature, or insight. Often overused; reserve for things that genuinely qualify.

“The new automation is a game changer for support response times.”

Detailed, fine-grained. Often used as “let's not get too granular” to keep a conversation high-level.

“We don't need a granular breakdown — just the headline number.”

A firm meeting end-time. Saying you have a hard stop signals you cannot run over, regardless of how the conversation is going.

“I've got a hard stop at 11 — let's hit the key decisions first.”

Focused, doing deep work, not available for messages or meetings. Often appears in Slack statuses.

“Head-down on the proposal until 3 — ping me after.”

The number of employees on a team. “Adding headcount” = hiring; “headcount freeze” = hiring paused.

“We have headcount approved for two more engineers this quarter.”

Advance notice that something is coming — usually given as a courtesy. “Just a heads-up” signals no action required, just awareness.

“Heads-up — the client's flying in on Thursday.”

“In case you missed it.” Used to resurface a previous message, link, or update without sounding pushy.

“ICYMI, the new pricing page went live yesterday.”

Deep in the small details, often too deep. Saying you're “in the weeds” asks to step back to the bigger picture.

“We're in the weeds on copy — let's revisit positioning first.”

The first meeting of a new project — usually covers goals, roles, timeline, and risks. Sets the tone for everything that follows.

“Kick-off is at 10am Tuesday — please review the brief beforehand.”

“Key performance indicator.” A measurable signal that tracks how well a team or product is doing against its goals.

“Our north-star KPI is monthly active users.”

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To make use of something you already have — a tool, relationship, dataset — to get more out of it.

“Let's leverage the existing customer list for the launch email.”

To add someone to an email thread, Slack channel, or meeting so they're aware and can contribute.

“Loop me in on the contract negotiation — I want to see the final terms.”

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Easy wins — tasks that are quick to complete and produce visible results. Useful for early momentum.

“Let's start with the low-hanging fruit on the SEO audit.”

“Lifetime value.” The total revenue a typical customer generates before they churn. Healthy SaaS targets LTV ≥ 3× CAC.

“Enterprise LTV is 5× the SMB segment.”

A significant checkpoint in a project — not the final delivery, but a moment worth flagging.

“Hitting 1,000 paying users is the next big milestone.”

“Month-over-month,” “year-over-year,” “quarter-over-quarter.” Comparison metrics in performance reviews — they tell you the *trend*, not the absolute number.

“Revenue is up 12% YoY but flat QoQ.”

To make a meaningful, measurable difference. Used to filter out work that's busy but low-impact.

“Will this feature actually move the needle on retention?”

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“Minimum viable product.” The smallest version of something you can ship to test whether it's worth building more.

“Let's launch the MVP in two weeks and iterate from real feedback.”

“Non-disclosure agreement.” A legal contract requiring you to keep certain information confidential. Common before partnerships, fundraising, or M&A discussions.

“We can't share the roadmap until they sign an NDA.”

The single guiding metric or goal a team uses to align decisions. If a project doesn't move the north star, it usually shouldn't be done.

“Our north star is weekly active teams — everything else is secondary.”

“Net Promoter Score.” A 0–100 metric based on the question “how likely are you to recommend us?” — measures customer loyalty, not satisfaction.

“We hit an NPS of 52 this quarter — best ever.”

“No reply needed.” Tells the recipient they don't have to respond — saves them email guilt.

“Quick FYI on the schedule change. NRN.”

“Objectives and key results.” A goal-setting framework: one objective (qualitative) tracked by 3–5 measurable key results.

“Our Q3 OKR is to grow trial-to-paid conversion to 12%.”

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What's on your current task list. “On my plate” = your responsibility; “off my plate” = handed off or completed.

“I've got the launch comms on my plate this week.”

In agreement, sharing the same understanding. Often used to confirm alignment before moving forward.

“Just want to make sure we're on the same page about the launch date.”

“Out of office.” Used in calendar events, autoresponders, and Slack statuses when you're not working.

“I'll be OOO from the 12th to the 19th.”

In US English, *unavailable / hard to reach* (not “paying personally”). A common source of confusion for non-native speakers and UK English readers.

“I'll be out of pocket Tuesday afternoon — back online Wednesday.”

“Profit and loss.” The financial statement showing revenue, costs, and net income for a period. “Owning P&L” = being accountable for a business unit's profitability.

“She owns the EMEA P&L now.”

A specific problem a customer or team is experiencing — the thing your product, process, or proposal claims to solve.

“The biggest pain point for SMBs is invoice reconciliation.”

A list of off-topic items raised in a meeting that you'll come back to later — keeps the meeting on track.

“Good point — let's put that in the parking lot and revisit Friday.”

A passive-aggressive phrase signalling “I already told you this.” Use sparingly — it reads as frustrated.

“Per my last email, the deadline is Thursday.”

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A quick message — Slack, Teams, sometimes email. Lower-stakes than “send a note” or “write up.”

“Ping me when you're free for a quick sync.”

“Performance improvement plan.” A formal HR process for an underperforming employee, typically 30–90 days. Often (not always) a precursor to termination.

“He was put on a PIP in February — six weeks left to hit the goals.”

A meaningful change in direction — strategy, product, market, role. Originally startup vocabulary; now general business English.

“We pivoted from SMB to enterprise after the Q2 review.”

A structured review after a project, incident, or launch — what happened, what worked, what to change next time.

“Let's run a post-mortem on the outage — no blame, just learnings.”

“Paid time off.” Time away from work you're paid for — vacation, sick days, personal days, often pooled. US-coded; UK/EU equivalents are “annual leave” or “holiday.”

“I'll be on PTO from the 5th to the 12th.”

A small, fast result that builds momentum or buys credibility. Especially useful in a new role or stalled project.

“Let's land two quick wins before pitching the bigger redesign.”

A polite way to postpone without cancelling outright. Implies you do want to reschedule.

“Can I take a raincheck on coffee — slammed this week.”

To contact someone — by email, message, or call — usually for the first time or after a gap. More polite and softer than “contact.”

“I'll reach out to the procurement lead this week.”

A short summary of what was discussed or decided — sent after a meeting, call, or interview. Confirms understanding and creates a written record.

“Sending a recap with action items by EOD.”

Short for retrospective — a team review at the end of a sprint or project to surface what to keep, change, or stop.

“We'll cover the launch issues in Friday's retro.”

“Request for proposal.” A formal document a buyer sends to vendors describing their requirements and inviting bids. Common in B2B, government, and enterprise sales.

“The RFP is due Friday — three vendors are responding.”

“Return on investment.” The value something produces relative to its cost — money, time, or attention.

“What's the ROI on running paid ads versus SEO?”

“Restricted stock unit.” Company shares granted as compensation that vest over time. Standard equity instrument at most public US tech companies.

“The offer includes 200 RSUs vesting over four years.”

How long a company or project can keep operating before it runs out of money. Mostly startup vocabulary.

“We've got 14 months of runway at current burn.”

The gradual expansion of a project beyond what was originally agreed. Pushes deadlines and budgets.

“The redesign turned into scope creep once marketing got involved.”

Pay and benefits offered to an employee on termination, usually in exchange for signing a release. Amount varies by tenure, country, and company.

“The package includes 12 weeks of severance and continued health cover.”

The one canonical place where a piece of information lives — so everyone references the same data. The opposite of having three spreadsheets that disagree.

“The HRIS is our single source of truth for headcount.”

A meeting between an employee and their manager's manager, with the direct manager not present. Used to surface concerns and check development.

“My skip-level with the VP is next Wednesday.”

“Service-level agreement.” A formal commitment to a response time or quality threshold — often in support or vendor contracts.

“Our SLA is a four-hour response on critical tickets.”

“Standard operating procedure.” A documented step-by-step process for repeatable work.

“We need an SOP for onboarding new contractors.”

A fixed time-box (usually 1–2 weeks) during which an agile team commits to finishing a specific set of work. The unit of planning and review in Scrum.

“We're shipping the auth flow this sprint.”

Anyone with a meaningful interest in a project — clients, internal teams, leadership. Identify them early or get blindsided later.

“Who are the key stakeholders for this launch?”

A short daily team meeting (often 15 min) where each person says what they did, what's next, and any blockers.

“We do standup at 9:30 — keep it under five minutes per person.”

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Short for “user story” — a small, user-focused unit of work in agile, usually phrased “As a [user], I want [X] so that [Y].” Tracked as tickets in Jira or Linear.

“The login story is blocked on design.”

A short live conversation (call, Zoom, in-person) to align on something quickly. Lower stakes than a “meeting.”

“Let's grab a 15-minute sync this afternoon.”

The idea that combining teams, products, or companies produces more value than each delivers alone. Heavily mocked but still common in M&A and exec talk.

“Sales and CS share enough customer signal that there's real synergy.”

In US English, to set something aside for later (the opposite of UK English, where “to table” means to bring it up).

“Let's table the budget discussion until next week.”

To move a side conversation out of the current meeting or thread — usually because it's off-topic for the group.

“Good point — let's take this offline and not hold up the room.”

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“To be confirmed.” Used when something is provisional and waiting on confirmation.

“Meeting on Tuesday at 2pm, TBC.”

“To be determined.” Used when a detail hasn't been decided yet.

“Venue: TBD — will share next week.”

A single tracked task or bug in a project-management or support tool (Jira, Linear, Zendesk). Each ticket has a unique ID and an owner.

“The auth bug is ticket ENG-3421.”

To briefly check in with someone — usually short, informal, and relationship-maintaining rather than task-driven.

“Just touching base ahead of next week's review.”

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Any interaction a customer has with your brand — ad, email, sales call, support chat, product use. Different from “touch base” (a person-to-person check-in).

“Map every touchpoint in the buyer journey before the rebrand.”

“Unique selling proposition.” The one thing that makes your product or pitch different from the alternatives.

“Our USP is same-day delivery in every city we serve.”

“Working from home.” Used in calendar, Slack status, and casual scheduling notes.

“WFH Tuesday — available on Slack as usual.”

“Work in progress.” Signals that something isn't finished — you're sharing it for early feedback, not sign-off.

“Sharing the deck as WIP — happy to take direction before I polish it.”

“One-on-one.” A recurring private meeting between a manager and a direct report — usually weekly or biweekly, focused on coaching and blockers.

“Let's cover this in our 1:1 on Thursday.”