7 Business English Expressions that Come From Sports [Updated]

Did you know that many business English expressions come from sports? They're useful for explaining ideas quickly, but they also lighten up professional conversations, making them more relaxed and less formal.

So what are some sports terms that made their way into office buildings and meeting rooms? Below, we’ll introduce seven that you’ll definitely encounter when doing business in English.

Ballpark (adj.)

“Ballparks” usually refer to baseball fields, which often cover a very large area.

Similarly, the word “ballpark” in business is often used to talk about a range of numbers. For example, if you’re making a “ballpark estimate,” that means you don't need to be exact. Instead, your guess only needs to be reasonable or within an expected range (i.e. inside the ballpark).

• The amount of water the factory uses varies, but ballpark estimates are around 200,000 tons each day.
• I don’t need exact numbers. Ballpark figures will do.

A useful phrase to know is “in the ballpark.”

• We estimate that the deal is in the ballpark of $75 - 100 million.
• Guess again. Your first guess was not even in the ballpark.

Pitch (n., v.)

When you pitch a ball in baseball, you throw it toward your opponent and hope they don’t hit it.

In business, if you “pitch” an idea, you propose, or present, it to someone and hope they like it.

• The director pitched his idea for a new movie to many producers, but he didn’t get any positive responses.
• In Silicon Valley, there’s a Venezuelan cafe where many start-up founders pitch their ideas to investors.

Pitch is also used as a noun.

• They gave a good pitch, but their prices were just too high.
• The company was not impressed by our sales pitch and will be buying from one of our competitors instead.

Fun fact: An “elevator pitch” is a short, memorable description of an idea that you can give to someone important if you happen to ride an elevator together. There’s even a show based on this concept.

• I'm working on my elevator pitch, but it's still a bit too long.

Touch Base (idiom)

Like the previous two expressions, “touch base” also comes from baseball.

During a game, players must run around a diamond-shaped field to score. At each corner is a base that players must touch to get a point. Players usually run as fast as possible between them, which means that the time they “touch” each base is very short. So if you tell someone, “Let’s touch base soon,” you’re basically saying, “Let’s talk briefly soon.” 

• My schedule is full of meetings this week, but let's touch base soon to discuss the project.
• Hi Steve, I just wanted to touch base with you, because I’ve received complaints about your behavior from HR, and wanted to learn more about what may have happened.

Drop the Ball (idiom)

In most ball games, dropping the ball means losing a chance to score.

Outside of sports, “dropping the ball” means to fail or forget to do something. In fact, the phrase usually comes with an apology.

For example, if you invite someone to meet up and then forget to reply to them, you can say, “Sorry, I dropped the ball. Are you free to chat next Wednesday?”

• I’m so sorry I dropped the ball on this project. I’ll have more time for it now that I’ve finished work on other tasks.
• The company's security department dropped the ball when hackers were allowed to steal sensitive information from the database.

Get the Ball Rolling (idiom)

As our lesson on soccer expressions explains, “At the beginning of a soccer game, one player rolls the ball to another. So the expression ‘get the ball rolling’ means to start an activity.”

• Let’s meet next week so we can get the ball rolling on this project.
• Once Olivia returns from vacation, we can have a meeting and get the ball rolling on our new website.

Call the Shots (idiom)

The origins of this phrase are unclear, but it’s said that it comes from billiards or target practice. Both of these are sports in which people might announce what they’re going to hit before shooting.

In business, the person who “calls the shots” makes the important decisions.

• You’ll have to talk to my boss about this proposal. He’s the one who calls the shots here, not me.
• The person who calls the shots must be prepared to make tough decisions under pressure.

Pass Along/On (phrasal v.)

Many sports require people to “pass,” or transfer, a ball to a teammate.

In business, people often use the same word as a casual way to talk about sending information to other people. (Just like tossing a ball, you are moving something from yourself to someone else.)

• Thanks for sending your CV. I’ll pass it on to our hiring manager, who will reach out if your application moves to the next round.
• Dear managers, if you haven’t already, please complete this survey and pass it on to your team members.

Related article: 11 Phrasal Verbs with "Make"

Your Turn!

As you can see, even expressions that come from baseball fields and soccer matches can still be used in professional situations.

Try to use some of these expressions the next time you speak to a client or write an email. Using them effectively will definitely make your English sound more like that of a native speaker.

If you'd like to learn more about the sports and business worlds mixing, check out this article next: 5 Racing Terms Used in Business English.

• idioms