Oxford Business English Dictionary for Learners of English

be,low'par adjective(Finance) (used about the price of a share, bond, etc.) lower than the price at which it was first made available for sale (the nominal price): bonds bought below par and repaid at par о below-par securities

be,low the 'fold adverb (IT) in the middle and bottom part of a web page that you cannot see on the screen until you move down in the text: Don't put important information below the fold. ► be,low the 'fold adjective [usually before noun]: below-the-fold advertising-» above the fold

be.low-the-'line adjective [usually before noun]

{Accounting) relating to unusual costs or income after a company's total profit has been calculated that show its final profit: It is rare for something to be treated as a below-the-line item in modern accounts.

{Accounting) in the US, relating to further costs that you can take away from your total (gross) income to calculate the final income that you must pay tax on: Some interest payments qualify as below- the-line deductions.

(Marketing) relating to advertising activities that do not involve using television, newspapers, etc., such as direct mail or exhibitions: The marketing mix incudes both advertising and below-the-line promotions such as merchandising.

► be.low-the-'line adverb {Accounting): Canyou quantify what costs were taken below-the-line in the first half? -> above-the-l1ne

'belt-.tightening noun [u] the act of spending less money because there is less available: an increase in wages after years of belt- tightening о We are going into a period of corporate belt-tightening. -» tighten your belt at tighten

benchmark /'bentJmcKk; AmE-ma:rk/ noun, verb

noun [C]

a standard, usually of quality or performance, that other things can be compared to: Revenue per available room is the key benchmark in the hotels sector, о A performance benchmark has been established for the team.

best practice

{Finance) {also 'benchmark .index) a set of share prices that are used to judge the performance of other shares: The FTSE100 is London's benchmark index.

{IT) a set of computer programs that can be used to measure what a computer can do and how fast it can do it

verb [+ obj]

to find the best performance or process and use this as a standard to improve performance or processes in a company: Many companies benchmarked Motorola, о Benchmark your skills against the standard of excellence in your field. ► 'benchmarking noun [u]

.beneficial 'interest noun [u,c] [Law) a right to benefit from sth, such as a right to receive the income from property or the profits that are made from selling sth: to have a beneficial interest in property/shares .beneficial 'owner noun [c] {Law) the owner of an investment, a property, etc. who has the right to benefit from it, for example, by receiving the profits that are made from it. This person may not be the legal owner and another person or company may keep or look after the investment, etc. for them, ►.beneficial 'ownership noun [u]

beneficiary /.bem'fijari; AmE-'fijieri/ noun [c] (plural beneficiaries)

a person who gains an advantage as a result of sth: Who will be the main beneficiary of the cuts in income tax?

(Law) a person who receives money or property when sb dies: She is the sole beneficiary under her father's will.

(Law) the person that a trust keeps and looks after property or money for trustee

(Finance) a person or company that receives a payment of money: the beneficiary of a cheque

benefit /'benifit/ noun, verb

noun

see also: accrued benefits, cafeteria cost death defined flexible fringe etc.