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Business English vocabulary · Meetings

Go off on a tangent

Meaning in business english, with examples

idiomCommon term

In business english, go off on a tangent means: To leave the main subject and discuss something only loosely connected.

In Turkish: konudan uzaklaşmak

How it is used

Common in spoken meetings. It describes a change of subject, not necessarily an interruption; use it tactfully when redirecting a colleague.

Example sentences

  1. I tend to go off on a tangent when clients ask about the history of the company.

    The speaker recognizes that background stories can distract from the current business discussion.

  2. Before we go off on a tangent about office furniture, can we finish the staffing decision?

    The question redirects attention from a loosely related topic to the unfinished decision.

Common collocations

  • start to go off on a tangent
  • tend to go off on a tangent
  • 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.
  • get to the pointTo say the main idea directly, without spending too much time on background or extra detail first.

More terms: Meetings

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