Meaning & use
flier in business
Last updated
Meanings
phrasecountablebusinessinformal
A risky business venture or investment that may fail badly but could also pay off well.
Grammar: The whole phrase acts as a countable noun: you can say "take a flier" or "it was a flier"; the verb that goes with it is usually take.
Patterns
- take a flier on something
- a flier on a new market
- it was a real flier
The company took a flier on a tiny startup and doubled its money in two years.
Investing in that currency was a flier, and most of the money was lost.
Analysts called the deal a flier rather than a safe long-term bet.
phrasecountablebusiness
A small printed sheet used to advertise a product, service, or event.
Grammar: Countable and often written as the single word "flyer" in this sense: hand out flyers.
Patterns
- hand out fliers
- a flier for an event
- print fliers
We handed out fliers in the shopping center to promote the new store.
The flier listed the dates and prices of all the courses.
Word forms
| plural | fliers in business |
|---|
Common combinations
- take a flier on
- The board decided to take a flier on an untested product.
- a bit of a flier
- Buying that stock was a bit of a flier, but it worked out.
- hand out fliers
- Two students handed out fliers for the concert outside the station.
- a marketing flier
- The marketing flier was simple, cheap, and very effective.
Synonyms and how they differ
- gamble
- A general word for any risky action; "flier" is more informal and sounds like business jargon.
- long shot
- Emphasizes that success is unlikely; a flier stresses the risk rather than the low odds.
- handbill
- An older word for a printed advertising sheet; it is not used for risky investments.
Opposites
Word family
- flyer noun
- the usual American spelling for the printed sheet, and also a person who flies
Commonly confused: flier in business or flyer?
flier in business vs flyer
"Flyer" is the more common spelling in general English and also means a person who flies or a fast train; "flier" is preferred by some business writers for the risky-investment sense.
Practice
In business talk, what does it mean to "take a flier on" a new product?
Choose one answer.
"Take a flier on" means to accept a risk in the hope of a reward. The other options describe advertising or testing, which is not what the phrase means.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “flier in business”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.