International English Test Editorial Team·13 Dec 2023·3 min read
Finance has a complex language. Here’s a guide to the Financial Terms Dictionary.
Are you employed in the finance sector and looking to enhance your English skills? Whether you aspire to a higher salary, are focused on personal finance, or simply want to strengthen your finance vocabulary, we’ve got you covered! Improving your English proficiency not only opens up opportunities in your career but can also contribute to a better understanding and management of your finances. Today, we’ll assist you in elevating your English learning level by introducing engaging words and expressions commonly used in finance.
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Fixed assets are physical, long-term things a business owns and uses to operate, such as buildings, machinery or land. Intangible assets have no physical form but still hold value, such as patents, trademarks or goodwill. Both appear on a balance sheet, but only fixed assets can be seen and touched, while intangible assets represent rights or reputation that the company controls.
Both phrases mean the same thing and are interchangeable in everyday finance English. To make out a check or write a check means to fill in the amount, date, payee name and your signature so the money can be paid. You make out a check to someone, naming the person or company who will receive the funds. Americans usually spell it check, while British English prefers cheque.
To incur debts means to take on or accumulate money that you owe, for example by borrowing or spending beyond your income. To settle debts means the opposite: you pay back and clear what you owe so the balance reaches zero. Related phrases include tackle and reduce debts, which describe gradually lowering the amount, and get into debt, which describes falling into financial difficulty.
You spend money, savings or even a fortune on something, so the preposition on introduces the item you buy. For example, you might spend a fortune on a house. With invest the natural pattern is invest in, as in invest your savings in the stock market. Paying uses different patterns: you pay by credit card or pay in cash, but you pay a deposit without a preposition.
To live on a fixed income means your regular money stays the same each period and does not rise with prices, which is common for people drawing a pension. It contrasts with live on a low wage, where earnings come from work but remain small. The verb live on points to the source you depend on, so you can live on a pension, a fixed income or savings you have built up over time.
An overdraft happens when you withdraw more money than your checking account holds, and the bank charges an overdraft fee as a penalty. To pay off overdraft fees means to clear those charges so your account returns to good standing. This phrase belongs to the vocabulary of financial difficulties, alongside expressions like run out of money, owe money and get into financial difficulties.
International English Test Editorial Team
ALTE Associate Member · UK English assessment provider · Est. 2023
