Click below to listen to the phrase.
Choose the correct definition a, b or c.
a) a promising start-up
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b) a highly-innovative company
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c) a high-profile company
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A blue-chip company is very strong financially, with a solid track record of producing earnings and only a moderate amount of debt. It also has a strong name in its industry with dominant products or services. Typically, blue chip companies are large (international) corporations that have been in business for many years and are considered to be very stable.
The phrase comes from the colour of high value poker chips.
French translation
une entreprise de premier ordre, une valeur sûre
How NOT to translate : *une entreprise puce bleue, or indeed une entreprise frite bleue or even une entreprise jeton bleu
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Examples in context
‘Blue chip companies join forces with UN to provide better healthcare
The company aims to help train one million community health workers across the continent by 2015
Global pharmaceutical, communications and technology companies - including BT - have joined together with the UN, governments and NGOs to launch the One Million Community Health Workers, 1MCHW, campaign to use communications technology to deliver significantly better healthcare to sub-Saharan Africa’s rural poor.’
The Guardian, 13 Oct. 2014
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‘RIL surges 3% ; company has rejigged investment portfolio, sold blue-chip stocks
NEW DELHI : Reliance Industries BSE 0.34 % Ltd ended the day on BSE at Rs 901.35 ; up 2.76%. The stock surged as much as 3.06 per cent in intraday trade.
The Mukesh Ambani-led corporate giant has enhanced its exposure to bonds and mutual funds, while pruning its holding of listed shares with sale of blue-chips like HDFC BankBSE 0.21 %, ONGCBSE 0.09 % and NTPCBSE 1.50 %.’
economictimes.indiatimes.com, 1 June 2015
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Everyday usage
I worked myself through university, received an engineering degree, and joined a blue-chip company with a defined benefit pension plan, five days after graduation.
The focus was to buy well-established companies, blue-chip companies, if you will.
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