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Business English vocabulary · Meetings

Action item

Meaning in business english, with examples

/ˈækʃən ˌaɪtəm/nounCore term

In business english, action item means: A specific task agreed in a meeting, with one person responsible for it and usually a due date.

In Turkish: aksiyon maddesi, yapılacak iş, görev

How it is used

Listed at the end of meeting notes or minutes. Teams assign, own, track and close action items, and the next meeting often starts by going through the open ones. British English also says 'action points'.

Example sentences

  1. Let's go through last week's action items before we start.

  2. The action item on supplier prices is still open; Burak owns it.

Common collocations

  • assign an action item
  • own an action item
  • open action items
  • close an action item
  • minutesThe official written record of a meeting, listing who attended, what was discussed, what was decided and who will do what next.
  • agendaA list of the topics that will be discussed in a meeting, usually in the order they will be covered and shared with attendees beforehand.
  • follow upTo contact someone again about something you discussed earlier, in order to check progress, ask for an answer or add information.
  • deadlineThe latest date or time by which a piece of work must be finished, sent or delivered.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Meetings

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