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Business English vocabulary · Presentations

Elaborate

Meaning in business english, with examples

/ɪˈlæbəreɪt/verbCommon term

In business english, elaborate means: To give more details or explanation about something you have said, especially when someone asks you to.

In Turkish: açmak, ayrıntılandırmak, detaylandırmak

How it is used

Common in Q&A sessions, meetings and interviews: 'Could you elaborate on that?', 'Let me elaborate'. It is followed by 'on'. As an adjective, 'elaborate' /ɪˈlæbərət/ means detailed or complicated: 'an elaborate plan'.

Example sentences

  1. You mentioned some risks with the supplier. Could you elaborate on that?

  2. I won't elaborate on the technical details now, but they're all in the handout.

Common collocations

  • elaborate on something
  • could you elaborate
  • let me elaborate
  • elaborate further
  • Q&AShort for questions and answers: the part of a presentation, meeting or event when the audience can ask the speaker questions.
  • walk throughTo explain something to someone step by step, often while showing it on a screen, so that they understand it fully.
  • breakdownA detailed list or explanation that divides a total, such as a cost or a result, into its separate parts.
  • highlightTo draw attention to the most important points or results so that people notice and remember them. As a noun, the best or most important part.

More terms: Presentations

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