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Business English vocabulary · Office Idioms and Phrases

Circle back

Meaning in business english, with examples

/ˌsɜːrkəl ˈbæk/phrasal verbCommon term

In business english, circle back means: To return to a topic or person later, usually because there is not enough time or information to deal with it now.

In Turkish: konuya sonra dönmek, tekrar ele almak, sonra dönüş yapmak

How it is used

A common corporate phrase in meetings and emails: 'Let's circle back to this next week', 'I'll circle back with you once I hear from legal.' Some people find it overused jargon.

Example sentences

  1. We're out of time, so let's circle back to the budget on Thursday.

  2. I'll circle back with you once I have the final numbers.

Common collocations

  • circle back to a topic
  • circle back with someone
  • circle back next week
  • let's circle back
  • get back toTo contact someone again later, usually to give them an answer or information that you do not have yet.
  • follow upTo contact someone again about something you discussed earlier, in order to check progress, ask for an answer or add information.
  • touch baseTo contact someone briefly to check how things are going or to share a quick update, usually by phone, chat or a short meeting.
  • take it offlineTo continue a discussion later, outside the current meeting and usually only with the people it concerns, so that the meeting can move on.

More terms: Office Idioms and Phrases

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