Oxford Business English Dictionary for Learners of English

a situation, number or quantity that can vary or be varied and affect a situation in different ways: Weather is one of the many variables that can affect the profits of clothing companies.

.variable budgetnoun [c] (Accounting) an amount of money available to a company, person, etc. that can be increased or decreased as necessary

.variable 'cost noun (с] (Accounting) an amount of money used to produce goods that varies according to the quantity made: Fuel consumption is a variable cost, о By cutting our fixed costs we can concentrate on controlling our variable costs. -» fixed cost—Picture at cost

.variable 'costing(alsodi.rect 'costing)noun [u](Accounting) a method of calculating the cost of a unit of a product that includes only costs that often change, such as the cost of materials and workers isynl marginal costing

.variable 'pay = performance-related pay

variance /'vearians; AmE 'ver-; 'vaer-/ noun [u,C]

(formal) the amount by which sth changes or is different from sth else: We test for any variance in quality at all stages of production.

(Accounting) the difference between the levels of costs or income that have been planned for an activity and the actual costs or income: The favourable variance of $700 000 (= we spent $700 000 less than expected) is mainly due to good control of expenses.

О adverse/favourable/positive/unfavourable

variance

vehicle's performance under different conditions, о Interest rates offered by banks are subject to variation, о The new drinks are a variation on their two best-selling products.

considerable/marked/significant/substantial/wide variation(s) ♦ minor/slight/small/subtle variation(s) ♦ regional/seasonal/year-to-year variation(s)

varied /'vearid; AmE'verid; 'vaer-/ adjective

of many different types: People's reasons for leaving their jobs are varied, о stores with low prices and varied merchandise

not staying the same, but changing often: She's had a varied career.

variety /va'raiati/ noun (plural varieties)

[C] a type of a thing, for example a plant or product, that is different from the others in the same general group: They sell seven varieties of apple/apples, о I've been buying the same variety of toothpaste for years.

[c, usually sing.] several different sorts of the same thing: We have a wide variety of models to choose from, о He resigned for a variety of reasons.

[u] the quality of not being the same or not doing the same thing all the time: / like to have a lot of variety in my work.

va riety storenoun [c] (AmE old-fashioned) a shop/store that sells a wide range of goods at low prices

vary /'veari; AmE 'veri; 'vaeri/ verb (varying, varied, varied^

[no obj] (about a group of similar things) to be different from each other in size, shape, etc: Computer prices vary considerably from country to country, о We introduced new methods with varying degrees of success.

[no obj] to change or be different according to the situation: Marketing methods vary with market size. oA company's IT costs vary according to what type of business it does, о Prices vary widely depending on where you live.

[+ obj] to make changes to sth to make it slightly different: The job enables me to vary the hours I work.

* VAT /.vi: ei 'ti:; vaet/ noun [u] value added tax a tax that is added to the price of many goods and services: Prices include VAT. о 85 + VAT

-» sales tax

VATman /'vaetmaen/ noun (plural VATmen /-men; - man/) (informaf)

593 VATman

1 (BrE) the VATman [sing.] a way of referring to the government department that is responsible for collecting VAT: It will soon be easier to deal with the VATman and the Inland Revenue.

vault 594

2 [с] a person whose j'oh is to check that a company has paid VAT: the local VATman