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Business English vocabulary · Meetings

Abstain

Meaning in business english, with examples

verbAdvanced term

In business english, abstain means: To choose not to vote for or against a proposal.

In Turkish: çekimser kalmak

How it is used

Used when recording formal votes. Abstain from voting is the usual construction; the minutes may distinguish abstentions from absences.

Example sentences

  1. I will abstain from voting because I have not received the revised cost figures.

    The member withholds a vote because information is missing, rather than voting against the plan.

  2. Two directors chose to abstain while the remaining members approved the new supplier.

    The two directors did not cast opposing votes, although they also did not approve the choice.

Common collocations

  • abstain from voting
  • choose to abstain
  • consensusGeneral agreement among all or most members of a group about a decision or an opinion.
  • minutesThe official written record of a meeting, listing who attended, what was discussed, what was decided and who will do what next.

More terms: Meetings

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