How can I use "bottleneck" in a sentence?

Example: The approval step turned into a bottleneck, so everything stalled. Example: Shipping became the bottleneck after demand spiked.

What does "overhead" mean in business?

Overhead is the regular cost of running a business—like rent, utilities, and salaries—that is not tied to making one specific product or service.

Key Performance Indicators—metrics that show whether a team, process, or company is meeting its goals.

Essential Business English Vocabulary for Work: Backlog, Inventory, Bottleneck & More

Q: What does "backlog" mean in business?

A backlog is the accumulation of work, tasks, or customer orders that the company has received but not yet processed, completed, or delivered.

Q: Is "backlog" the same as "backorder"?

No. A backorder is a specific customer order you cannot fill yet because the item is out of stock. A backlog is the overall pile of uncompleted work or unfulfilled orders. All backorders are part of the backlog, but not all backlog items are backorders.

Q: What does "inventory" mean?

Inventory is the stock of goods and materials a company has: finished products ready to sell, items in storage, raw materials, and work in progress.

Q: Is inventory the same as stock?

In everyday use, people often use them the same way. Strictly, stock usually means finished goods for sale, while inventory can also include raw materials and work in progress.

Q: What is a bottleneck in a process?

A bottleneck is the slowest or most constrained step in a process that limits overall speed and creates delays.

Q: Lead time vs. turnaround: what’s the difference?

Lead time is the total time from order/request to delivery. Turnaround time is how long your team needs to complete its specific task once work starts.

Q: What does "turnaround" mean?

Turnaround is the time it takes to finish a job after you receive it and send it back or deliver it. It can also mean a major improvement in performance.

Q: What does "freight" mean in business?

Freight means goods transported in bulk by truck, train, ship, or plane, and sometimes the cost charged to move them.

Erin West
Sep 17
6 min read

Business English vocabulary quiz image with the question “There’s still a _____ of orders from last week” and options backdrop, backlash, backtrack, backlog. Focus word: backlog meaning in business English.

Clear communication at work starts with strong Business English vocabulary. When you know the right terms, you can explain delays, report progress, and talk about problems clearly with colleagues and clients.

In this lesson, you’ll start with a quick quiz, then learn essential Business English nouns that appear in real meetings and emails. Words like backlog, deadline, bottleneck, workload, turnaround, and more will help you sound professional and confident at work.

Today’s Challenge

Your company sells office supplies online. Last week, there were too many customer orders, and the warehouse team couldn’t ship everything on time. In today’s team meeting, your manager says:

There’s still a _____ of orders from last week.

A) backdrop

B) backlash

C) backtrack

D) backlog

Choose the correct option and listen to the sentence.

Keep scrolling for simple definitions and examples.

What does "backdrop" mean?

BACKDROP

noun

the background behind something (for example, in a theater, photo, or situation)

The mountain was a beautiful backdrop for the wedding.
The speech happened against the backdrop of loud protests.

What does "backlash" mean?

BACKLASH

noun

a strong, negative reaction from many people

The new law caused a public backlash.
The company faced backlash after raising prices.

What does "backtrack" mean?

BACKTRACK

verb

to go back to an earlier place, idea, or decision

We had to backtrack because we took the wrong road.
The manager backtracked on his promise to give bonuses.

Woman in green sweater with coffee, looking thoughtful beside a laptop showing a graph. Text: "Start Learning Data Science. Enroll now."

What does "backlog" mean?

BACKLOG

noun

work or orders that are waiting because they were not finished earlier

There’s a backlog of emails I need to answer.
The company is trying to clear its backlog of orders.

That's right! The correct answer is D) backlog.

Learn More Business English Vocabulary Through Real Workplace Examples

Two business professionals smiling in a warehouse office setting, symbolizing learning Business English vocabulary through real workplace examples.

In real workplaces, it’s not only important to know one word like backlog but also to use other key nouns that come up in emails, reports, and daily conversations. Words such as inventory, bottleneck, and turnaround help you explain problems, manage tasks, and sound clear in professional situations.

Let’s explore these useful business nouns — choose the right answer, read the meaning, and listen to the examples.

- Do we have enough _____ for next week’s orders?

- Barely. We’ll need a new shipment.

A) overhead B) invention C) inventory D) overrun

DEFINITION, EXAMPLES, AND THE CORRECT ANSWER

The correct answer is C) inventory.

What does "inventory" mean?

INVENTORY

noun

all the goods a company has and keeps in storage (like a warehouse or shop)

The store has a large inventory of winter clothes.
We need to check the inventory before the audit.
Sales are slow, so our inventory is getting bigger.

- Do we have those laptops in stock?

- Not yet — they’re on _____ until next week.

A) backorder

B) backlash

C) breakdown

D) breakout

DEFINITION, EXAMPLES, AND THE CORRECT ANSWER

The correct answer is A) backorder.

What is the meaning of "backorder"?

BACKORDER

noun

an order for a product that cannot be filled right away because the item is temporarily out of stock

The phones are on backorder, and delivery will take another two weeks.
We have a backorder of 500 chairs because the supplier is behind schedule.
The supplier promised to clear the backorder of medical supplies within two weeks.

- Our _____ is way too high.

- I know, especially with the new office lease.

A) deadline

B) revenue

C) share price

D) overhead

DEFINITION, EXAMPLES, AND THE CORRECT ANSWER

The correct answer is D) overhead.

What is "overhead" in English?

OVERHEAD

noun

the regular costs of running a business, like rent, electricity, and salaries, but not the cost of making a product or service

Rent is one of the biggest overhead costs for small companies.
The firm is trying to cut overhead by moving to a smaller office.
Travel expenses add a lot to our monthly overhead.

- Did the _____ come in yet?

- Yeah, it got here this morning, but a few boxes were damaged.

A) freight

B) invoice

C) receipt

D) packaging slip

DEFINITION, EXAMPLES, AND THE CORRECT ANSWER

The correct answer is A) freight.

What does "freight" mean in business?

FREIGHT

noun

goods or products that are transported, usually in large amounts, by truck, train, ship, or plane

The company sent the freight by sea to save money.
Freight costs have increased a lot over the past year.
The warehouse is full of freight waiting to be delivered.

- The approval step is turning into a real _____.

- I know, everything’s piling up while we wait for the manager’s "okay".

A) merger

B) guideline

C) bottleneck

D) milestone

DEFINITION, EXAMPLES, AND THE CORRECT ANSWER

The correct answer is C) bottleneck.

What does "bottleneck" mean?

BOTTLENECK

noun

the inefficient part of a process that slows everything else down

The approval step has become a bottleneck, so projects are delayed.
We need more staff in shipping — that’s where the bottleneck is right now.
The old software is creating a bottleneck in our reporting process.

- OK, what’s the _____ on those reports?

- About three days once we have all the data.

A) scope

B) turnaround

C) markup

D) market share

DEFINITION, EXAMPLES, AND THE CORRECT ANSWER

The correct answer is B) turnaround.

What does "turnaround" mean?

TURNAROUND

noun

the time it takes to finish a job after you receive it and send it back

Our standard turnaround for the reports is three business days.
Can your team do a 24-hour turnaround on the contract edits?
The printer has a quick turnaround, so the flyers will be ready tomorrow.

Ready for more practice? Head to the Vocabulary Challenge on phrasal verbs.

Essential Business English phrasal verbs for work, meetings, office conversations, presentations.

FAQ: Business English Vocabulary for Work

What does "backlog" mean in business?

A backlog is the accumulation of work, tasks, or customer orders that a company has received but not yet processed, completed, or delivered.

Is "backlog" the same as "backorder"?

No, it's not.

Backorder = a specific customer order you cannot fill yet because the item is out of stock or unavailable.

Example: A customer orders a laptop, but it’s not in stock.

That single order is on backorder.

Backlog = the overall accumulation of uncompleted work or unfulfilled orders, regardless of the reason.

Example: The company has a backlog of 5,000 laptops to assemble and deliver.

What does "inventory" mean?

Inventory is the stock of goods and materials that a company has.

Examples

A clothes shop’s inventory is the shirts, shoes, and jackets in the store.
A car factory’s inventory is the parts and cars they are building.
A restaurant’s inventory is the food and drinks in the kitchen.
A bookstore’s inventory is the books on the shelves and in the storeroom.
A furniture shop’s inventory is the chairs, tables, and sofas they are selling.

Is inventory the same as stock?

Often yes in everyday use. Stock usually means finished goods for sale; inventory can include raw materials and work in progress.

What is a bottleneck in a process?

The slow step that limits the whole process and causes delays.

How do I use bottleneck in a sentence?

The approval step turned into a real bottleneck — everything stalled while we waited for the manager’s sign-off.
Shipping became the bottleneck once demand spiked; we just couldn’t get orders out fast enough.
Hiring is our biggest bottleneck right now — projects are waiting because we don’t have enough engineers.
The bottleneck in this process isn’t sales, it’s production. We can’t make the units fast enough.
Customer support has become the bottleneck; tickets pile up faster than the team can handle them.

Lead time vs turnaround: what’s the difference?

Lead time = the total time from when a customer places an order (or request) until they actually receive the product or service. It covers everything end-to-end.

Example: If you order a laptop today and get it in 10 days, the lead time is 10 days.

Turnaround time = the time needed to complete a specific task, step, or process once work has started. It’s usually your team’s part of the whole lead time.

Example: The repair shop promises a 24-hour turnaround for fixing a phone once you drop it off.

What are KPIs?

Key Performance Indicators: metrics that show if a team or process is meeting goals.

Purchase order vs invoice: what’s the difference?

A purchase order is the buyer’s request to buy. An invoice is the seller’s bill for what was delivered.

What is WIP (work in progress)?

Items that are not raw materials anymore but are not finished products yet.

What does "stockout" mean?

When you run out of an item and cannot fulfill orders until you restock.

How can teams reduce a bottleneck?

Find the real cause of the delay, not just the visible problem.
Use simple tools or software to speed up slow tasks.
Train people to do more than one job so they can help where needed.
Do some steps at the same time instead of waiting for one to finish.
Make it clear who decides so approvals don’t get stuck.
Plan better for busy times so the team is ready.

This article is brought to you by RealBusinessEnglish.com, where learning Business English is practical, professional, and just the right amount of fun.