Glossary
Cost Estimator Terms & Vocabulary
15 essential cost estimator terms with plain-English definitions: the vocabulary you’ll hear in training and on day one.
Key cost estimator vocabulary
These 15 terms come up constantly in cost estimator training, on the job and in interviews. Knowing them helps you follow instructions, document accurately and sound prepared.
- Alternates
- Optional bid items.
- Apprenticeship
- Paid structured training.
- Bid
- Price offer.
- Bid leveling
- Comparing sub bids.
- Blueprint
- Construction drawing.
- Change order
- Contract change.
- Contingency
- Money for unknowns.
- General conditions
- Project overhead costs.
- Journeyman
- Fully trained worker.
- Labor burden
- Taxes and benefits on wages.
- Markup
- Added profit.
- Overhead
- Indirect costs.
- Scope
- Work included.
- Takeoff
- Measuring quantities from plans.
- Unit price
- Cost per unit.
Practice these terms
Test yourself with the free Cost Estimator practice test: it includes vocabulary questions built from this list. For a complete course, see Cost Estimator training.
Browse terms from every career in our career glossary.