When you need this

A work trip starts with a lot of small conversations before you ever reach the airport. Your manager tells you where you're going and why. Someone books the flight and the hotel. Your team wants to know when you're away and who to ask while you're gone. And when you get back, everyone asks how it went.

Americans usually say "business trip" or "work trip", and they talk about travel with light verbs: you "head to" a city, you're "out in" Chicago, you "fly back" on Thursday. "I'm traveling for work" is the neutral way to explain why you're hard to reach. "I'm on the road" means you've been traveling a lot, and it's often said with a tired smile.

Phrases

travel your company sends you on

travel to a place, in relaxed English

be away in another city for work

the neutral reason you're hard to reach

away from home, traveling a lot for work

reserve plane seats

the plan of flights, hotels and meetings

return by plane

a trip to see a client's or supplier's workplace

a large event where companies show their products

tiredness after flying across time zones

what coworkers ask when you're back

Say it out loud

Tap a sentence to hear it. Say it after the voice.

Practice · 3 min

Say the line that fits. Situation on the left, one natural line on the right.

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Say it today

Use it once in a real conversation before tomorrow. Out loud counts, even to yourself.