Oxford Business English Dictionary for Learners of English

'unitary tax noun [c,u] a form of corporation tax used in some states of the US, which calculates the amount a company must pay according to their total income, and not on their income in just one state

'unit cost noun [c, usually sing.] (Accounting) the cost of producing, buying or providing one item: The more goods that are produced, the lower the unit cost, о The department's PCs have a unit cost of $2 000 and a life expectancy of 3 years.

1 (Accounting) not yet paid

О unpaid bills/debts/fees/rent

2 (about work, etc.) done or taken without payment: unpaid work о to take unpaid leave

3 (about people) not receiving payment for work

that they do: unpaid volunteers

[oppipaid

unpredictable /.Anpri'diktabl/adjective

if a situation, an event, a price, etc. is

unpredictable you cannot be sure what will

happen because it changes a lot or depends on too

many different things: the unpredictable nature of

oil prices predictable

unpredictability /.Anpri.dikta'bilati/ noun [u] unpredictably /.Anpri'diktabli/ adverb

increasing or improving: Business confidence is on the up. on the ,up and 'up (informal) 1 (BrE) becoming more and more successful: Their company is on the up and up. 2 (AmE) = on the level at level noun ,ups and 'downs the mixture of good and bad things in a particular situation: Every business has its ups and downs.

upbeat /'Apbi:t/ adjective (informal) positive and enthusiastic; making you feel that the future will be good: The company's founder was upbeat about its prospects, о The presentation ended on an upbeat note. Ioppj downbeat

UPC /ju: pi: 'si:/ abbr (Commerce) Universal Product Code a pattern of thick and thin lines that is printed on things that you buy in a shop/store. It contains information that a computer can read, [syn] bar code

upcoming /'лрклтщ/ adjective [only before noun] going to happen soon: The website gives details of upcoming events.

update /,up'deit/ verb [+ obj]

1 to make sth more modern by adding new parts, etc: It's about time we updated our logo, о updated software

2 to give sb the most recent information about sth; to add the most recent information to sth: I called the office to update them on the day's developments.

Our records are regularly updated.

► update /'updeit/ noun [C]: an update of the software о to provide regular updates о getting updates on travel information

upfront /,лрТглт/ adjective, adverb •adjective

(Commerce) [only before noun] paid in advance, before other payments are made: There will be anupfront fee of 4%.

О an upfront fee/payment

a person or thing that uses sth: The software is too complicated for the average user, о The system allows mobile phone users to see video clips, о Financial services companies are heavy users of IT.

'user fee noun [c] (AmE) a tax on a service that is provided for the public: The airport authority has proposed to raise user fees.