Definition

The corporate sin of turning the perfectly good noun 'action' into a verb meaning to execute or complete a task. Because apparently 'doing' things is too pedestrian for the modern workplace.

Example Usage

I'm actioning your feedback from the last sprint review as we speak.

Origin

Business jargon evolution from the late 1990s, part of the trend of verbing nouns.

Fun Fact

This term is so reviled by language purists that it regularly appears on 'most annoying business jargon' lists alongside 'synergy'.

Source: Common corporate terminology

Related Terms

Beginner

P D Q

An old-school acronym meaning "pretty damn quick" that your grandfather probably used unironically. This vintage expression for speedy action has survived decades by being just ambiguous enough for polite company while everyone knows what the D really stands for. The linguistic equivalent of a wink and a nod.

💼 Corporate / Business
Beginner

Blue sky thinking

Ideation unconstrained by practical limitations like budgets, reality, or physics. Where you pretend anything is possible before constraints murder your dreams.

💼 Corporate / Business
Beginner

cutback

A polite euphemism for slashing budgets, reducing staff, or eliminating programs when executives realize they've been hemorrhaging money or need to appease shareholders. It's the corporate world's version of 'we're tightening our belts,' except it usually means other people's belts while leadership maintains their executive perks. Often deployed right before a round of layoffs that management swears are 'not layoffs, just strategic workforce reductions.'

💼 Corporate / Business
Intermediate

enablement

Corporate jargon for giving teams the tools, training, or resources they need to do their jobs—because apparently "support" wasn't fancy enough. It's particularly popular in sales contexts, where it means showering reps with content, training, and software they may or may not actually use. The term makes basic workplace support sound like a strategic initiative worthy of its own department and budget.

💼 Corporate / Business
Intermediate

Vertical

An industry segment that sounds much more impressive than just saying "type of customer." Saying you operate in the healthcare vertical is like saying you eat food in the dinner vertical -- technically correct but unnecessarily complicated.

💼 Corporate / Business
Beginner

high-level overview

A deliberately vague summary that omits all useful details, typically because the speaker doesn't know them or hopes you won't ask follow-up questions. The executive version of 'I didn't do the reading.'

💼 Corporate / Business

Translate This Term

See “actioning” in Corporate Speak, Gen-Z Slang, Pirate Speak, and more.

Try the Translator

Share This Term

Post on XShare on FacebookShare on LinkedIn

Discover a Term

Advanced

pebblin'

To persistently annoy someone with constant small requests and tasks, like being pelted with tiny pebbles until you lose...