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Job Interviews & Careers vocabulary · Job Offers & Contracts

Turn down

Meaning in job interviews & careers, with examples

phrasal verbCore term

In job interviews & careers, turn down means: To say no to an offer or request, for example when you decide not to accept a job you have been offered.

In Turkish: reddetmek, geri çevirmek, kabul etmemek

How it is used

Common in conversation: 'I turned down the offer.' A noun object can go in the middle or at the end (turn the offer down, turn down the offer), but a pronoun must go in the middle: 'I turned it down.' Decline is the more formal word in emails.

Example sentences

  1. I turned down the offer because the salary was too low.

  2. She was offered a job in Dubai but turned it down for family reasons.

Common collocations

  • turn down an offer
  • turn down a job
  • turn it down
  • politely turn down
  • job offerA formal proposal from an employer to give you a job, usually stating the salary, start date and main conditions.
  • counterofferA new offer made in reply to another one, such as a candidate asking for more money, or a current employer offering more pay so that you stay.
  • negotiateTo discuss something formally with someone in order to reach an agreement, for example about your salary, start date or working hours.
  • offer letterA formal letter or email from an employer that confirms a job offer and states the job title, salary, start date and main terms.

More terms: Job Offers & Contracts

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