 10. Business English Phrasal Verbs from espressoenglish.net If you work in an English speaking environment, you might hear these common phrasal verbs used in business situations. 1. Draw up To draw up an agreement, a contract, a list, etc., means to compose the document and put it in written form. For example, my lawyer will draw up a contract and send it for your review. 2. Get ahead This means to be successful in your career or life to make more progress than others. For example, you need to make lots of connections in order to get ahead in this industry. 3. Burn out To burn out means to work too hard so that you become completely stressed and exhausted. For example, if you keep working 16-hour days, you'll burn out within a month. 4. Not measure up If something doesn't measure up, it means it is not satisfactory. It doesn't compare well with the standards. For example, this designer's work just doesn't measure up to the quality we've come to expect. 5. Zero in on To zero in on something means to focus closely on it. For example, we've tried a lot of strategies, but we need to zero in on what's actually working. 6. Lay off If an employee is laid off, he or she loses their job. The company terminates their employment. For example, the R&D department had to lay off a couple of people. 7. Pencil in The phrasal verb pencil in is used when you set an appointment, but you don't confirm it as final. For example, let's pencil in a lunch meeting next Wednesday. 8. Close down This means to stop operating. For example, the company closed down the factory because it wasn't meeting production quotas. 9. Run something, buy or past someone This phrasal verb means to show an idea or proposal to that person and ask for their approval or feedback. For example, that's an interesting idea. Let's run it by the boss and see what she thinks. 10. Sign off on This means to give official approval for something. For example, the manager signed off on the revised budget for 2015. If you're learning English for your job or career, it helps to know the specific phrases, vocabulary and expressions that are used in day-to-day life on the job. The Business English course will teach you these words and expressions. It has 30 lessons that focus on interviews, meetings, presentations, negotiations and more. And if you'd like to learn more phrasal verbs, check out the Phrasal Verbs in Conversation course, where you'll learn 500 phrasal verbs in everyday spoken English. Visit espressoenglish.net, click on courses and look for the Business English course and phrasal verbs in conversation to see more information about these courses as well as take some sample lessons.