Oxford Business English Dictionary for Learners of English

_rbig 'hitter = heavy hitter the 'big league noun [c, usually sing.] the most important companies, people, etc. in a particular field: His past experience suggests that he will be able to take the company into the big league. big'name noun [c] a famous company, person, product, etc. in a particular field: one of the biggest names in sports retailing о We want to attract a big-name CEO. .Big 'steel noun [U] (informaf) a group name for the most important steel companies in a country, especially the US: Big Steel has been a powerful influence in US politics.

big-'ticket adjective [only before noun] (especially AmE) {informal)

costing a lot of money: Demand for big-ticket items, such as homes and cars, remains healthy. big-time adjective [only before noun] {informal) Л successful and important: a big-time lawyer 2 big: The company has taken on some big-time risks.

bilateral /.bai'laetaral/ adjective involving two groups of people or two countries: The two countries signed a bilateral trade agreement.

bilateral agreements/relations/talks/trade t- bi laterally adverb multilateral

bi.lateral 'contract noun [c] (Law) an agreement in which both parties agree to do sth for the other unilateral contract

hi,lateral 'credit noun [u] an agreement between two people or groups to allow time for debts to be paid

bi.lateral mo'nopoly noun [c] {Economics) a situation in which a particular service or particular goods are only supplied by one company or organization and there is only one customer, so the price must be agreed between the two

bill /bil/ noun, verb

noun [C]

see also: bank bill, commercial due period sight T-bill. term etc.

the amount that you must pay: Can I have the bill, please? о Our hosts insisted on picking up the bill (= paying) for the meal. See note at invoice

a big/huge/large bill ♦ to ask for/have/pay/settle the bill

{especially AmE) = note (1)

Finance; Trade) (BrE) = bill of exchange idioms at clean adj., foot verb

verb [+ obj]

to send sb a bill for sth: You will be billed monthly for the service. invoice verb

to advertise or describe sb/sth in a particular way: It is billed as the world's smallest video camera.

billboard /'bilbD:d; AmE-bo:rd/ noun, verb

noun [C]

a large board on the outside of a building or at the side of the road, used for putting advertisements on: billboard advertising [synj hoarding

verb [+ obj] {often be billboarded)

to advertise sth on a billboard: Cheap flights are often billboarded on the London underground.

{especially AmE) to advertise sth: the most billboarded game of the season

'bill .broker {BrEalso 'discount .broker) noun [c] {Finance) a person or business that buys bills of exchange and sells them to banks or keeps them until they are paid

billing /'biliq/ noun

see also: reverse billing

{Accounting) [u] the act of preparing and sending bills to customers: a billing clerk о customer billing software

{Accounting)billings [pi.] the total amount of business that a company does in a particular period of time, especially in advertising or insurance: The agency generates annual billings of around $72 million, о The company is worth $125 million in billings.

[U] the way sb/sth is advertised or described: Their latest gaming machine is living up to (= is as good as) its billing as the hottest on the market.

'billing .cycle noun [c] {Accounting) the period of time between the bills that a company sends to a customer: Your billing cycle begins on the day you sign up for the service.