Okuzeka
Economics vocabulary · GDP and Growth

Business cycle

Meaning in economics, with examples

nounCommon term

In economics, business cycle means: The repeated pattern of ups and downs in economic activity, moving from expansion to a peak, then to contraction and a low point, and back to recovery.

In Turkish: konjonktür, iş çevrimi, ekonomik dalgalanma

How it is used

Used in macroeconomics courses and by analysts who discuss where we are in the cycle: early, late, at the peak or near the bottom. Cycles are irregular in length. Also called the economic cycle, or the trade cycle in older British texts.

Example sentences

  1. Unemployment usually rises in the downswing of the business cycle and falls in the upswing.

  2. Analysts think the economy is late in the business cycle, so growth may soon slow.

Common collocations

  • phases of the business cycle
  • late in the cycle
  • cyclical downturn
  • economic cycle
  • recessionA significant fall in economic activity lasting months, with falling output, income and jobs; often defined as two quarters in a row of shrinking GDP.
  • recoveryThe period after a recession or crisis when output, jobs and incomes start to grow again and move back towards their earlier level.
  • downturnA period when economic activity, sales or prices fall or grow much more slowly; a general word that may or may not mean a full recession.
  • economic growthAn increase in the amount of goods and services an economy produces over time, usually measured as the percentage change in real GDP.
  • GDPShort for gross domestic product: the total value of all final goods and services produced within a country in a given period, usually a quarter or a year.

More terms: GDP and Growth

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level:

This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not financial advice.