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Business English vocabulary · Negotiations

Deal-breaker

Meaning in business english, with examples

/ˈdiːlˌbreɪkər/nounCommon term

In business english, deal-breaker means: A single issue or condition so important that, if it is not accepted, one side will refuse the whole deal.

In Turkish: anlaşmayı bozacak konu, vazgeçilmez şart, kırmızı çizgi

How it is used

Informal but common in negotiations, hiring and buying decisions: 'Price isn't a deal-breaker for us', 'Is the exclusivity clause a deal-breaker?' Also written dealbreaker.

Example sentences

  1. A six-month payment period is a deal-breaker for us; we need payment within 60 days.

  2. For many candidates, having no remote work at all is a deal-breaker.

Common collocations

  • a real deal-breaker
  • a deal-breaker for us
  • not a deal-breaker
  • potential deal-breaker
  • dealAn agreement between two or more sides, especially a business arrangement to buy, sell or work together on agreed terms.
  • bottom lineThe 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.
  • termsThe conditions of an agreement or contract that both sides accept, such as the price, payment dates, delivery and responsibilities.
  • negotiateTo discuss something formally with another side in order to reach an agreement both can accept, for example on price or contract terms.

More terms: Negotiations

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