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Business English vocabulary · Negotiations

Bottom line

Meaning in business english, with examples

/ˌbɑːtəm ˈlaɪn/nounCommon term

In business english, bottom line means: The most important fact or the final position in a discussion; also a company's profit or loss, shown on the last line of its income statement.

In Turkish: işin özü, son fiyat, net kazanç

How it is used

In negotiations, 'What's your bottom line?' asks for the lowest price or final offer. In discussions: 'The bottom line is, we need more staff.' In finance: 'The cuts improved the bottom line.'

Example sentences

  1. We can talk about delivery dates, but the bottom line is that we can't go below this price.

  2. The new energy contract will have a direct impact on our bottom line.

Common collocations

  • the bottom line is
  • what's your bottom line
  • impact the bottom line
  • improve the bottom line
  • negotiateTo discuss something formally with another side in order to reach an agreement both can accept, for example on price or contract terms.
  • deal-breakerA single issue or condition so important that, if it is not accepted, one side will refuse the whole deal.
  • KPIShort for key performance indicator: a measurable value that shows how well a person, team or company is achieving an important goal.
  • on the tableOffered or available for discussion in a negotiation or meeting; something that is 'off the table' is no longer being considered.

This word in other fields

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

More terms: Negotiations

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