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Business English vocabulary · Meetings

Talk at cross purposes

Meaning in business english, with examples

idiomCommon term

In business english, talk at cross purposes means: To misunderstand each other because the speakers mean different things.

In Turkish: birbirini yanlış anlayarak konuşmak

How it is used

Used when a discussion fails because people mean different things. Explain the competing meanings rather than merely accusing someone of misunderstanding.

Example sentences

  1. We often talk at cross purposes because sales means orders placed and finance means invoices paid.

    Both teams discuss sales figures, but their different measures make the conversation misleading.

  2. Let's define the word launch before we talk at cross purposes about the deadline again.

    Agreeing on what counts as a launch prevents another discussion based on different assumptions.

Common collocations

  • seem to talk at cross purposes
  • avoid talking at cross purposes
  • clarifyTo make something easier to understand by explaining details, removing doubt, or correcting confusion.
  • on the same pageHaving the same understanding of a situation, plan or goal as the other people involved.

More terms: Meetings

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