As per the Oxford Dictionary, Idioms in English are expressions that have a different meaning from the individual words used in them. They are literary devices used in spoken and written English language. Literary devices are one of the methods to enhance writing in English and express it better. It can sound tough to learn English. However, you can choose to learn while having fun with idioms! Here are over 100 most common idioms to learn their meanings & examples. But, let us first understand what is idioms in English and its importance in the sections below.
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A simple definition of idioms in English would be that they are expressions that seem to be meaningless or irrelevant to the context. However, they have a general meaning which applies to the situation. They are phrases whose literal meaning is different from the expression. Because of this, you will have to learn their meaning and usage in the right context. Learning them is a fun way of improving your written and spoken English. They are just like the daily use English words for native English people. You will know why they are important in the section below.
You will notice that idioms in English speaking and writing play an important role. Even in everyday English, you can use idioms to make the conversations interesting. Moreover, it makes your point weigh more impactful!
However, it is important to note that idioms are not used in academic or formal writings. You will find them mostly in literature and creative writing. However, the news rarely has them. Thus, you must use idioms with only those audiences who understand the idioms in English with meaning. Now, you know why idioms are used and why they are important. Thus, let us look at some phrases and idioms with meaning and examples.
Also Read: How to Introduce Yourself in English?
Here is a table of over 100 idioms in English with meaning and usage in sample sentences:
| Idioms and Phrases | Meaning | Usage in Sentence |
|---|---|---|
| A blessing in disguise | Something that seems bad at first but turns out to be good | Losing that job was a blessing in disguise because it led me to a much better opportunity. |
| A dime a dozen | Very common, not special | Those kinds of shoes are a dime a dozen; everyone has them. |
| A fish out of water | To feel uncomfortable in an unfamiliar situation | I felt like a fish out of water at the party because I didn’t know anyone. |
| A picture is worth a thousand words | Visual representation can convey complex ideas | Her drawing was a picture worth a thousand words; it showed her feelings so clearly. |
| A taste of your own medicine | Experiencing the same negative treatment you gave to others | After months of pranks, they gave him a taste of his own medicine and pranked him back. |
| Actions speak louder than words | What you do is more important than what you say | He promised to help, but actions speak louder than words—he never showed up. |
| All in the same boat | Everyone is facing the same problem | We’re all in the same boat now, trying to get the project finished before the deadline. |
| All bark and no bite | Someone who talks a lot but doesn't take action | He’s all bark and no bite; he never follows through on his threats. |
| An arm and a leg | Very expensive | That designer handbag costs an arm and a leg, but it’s worth it if you can afford it. |
| Back to the drawing board | Start over from the beginning | The project failed, so we’ll have to go back to the drawing board and come up with a new plan. |
| Barking up the wrong tree | Pursuing a mistaken or misguided course of action | If you think I’m the one who broke the vase, you’re barking up the wrong tree. |
| Be on the ball | Be alert, quick to respond | You need to be on the ball if you want to succeed in this competitive market. |
| Beat around the bush | Avoiding the main topic, being indirect | Stop beating around the bush and tell me what happened! |
| Bite the bullet | To endure a painful situation | I didn’t want to go to the dentist, but I had to bite the bullet and make an appointment. |
| Bite off more than you can chew | Take on a task that's too big or difficult to manage | I think I bit off more than I could chew by volunteering for five projects at once. |
| Break the ice | To start a conversation, to make people feel comfortable | He told a funny joke to break the ice at the meeting. |
| Bring home the bacon | To earn a living, provide for the family | She works hard every day to bring home the bacon for her family. |
| Burn the midnight oil | To work late into the night | He had to burn the midnight oil to finish his report before the deadline. |
| By the book | To follow rules or instructions exactly | The manager likes to do everything by the book, so we need to fill out these forms properly. |
| Call it a day | To stop working for the day | We’ve been at this for hours, let’s call it a day. |
| Catch someone red-handed | To catch someone in the act of doing something wrong | The police caught him red-handed trying to break into the house. |
| Cold feet | To feel nervous or anxious before a big event | She got cold feet before the wedding and almost didn’t go through with it. |
| Come hell or high water | No matter what happens, no matter the obstacles | I’ll finish this project, come hell or high water. |
| Cut to the chase | Skip the preliminary details and get to the main point | Let's cut to the chase—do you have the money or not? |
| Devil's advocate | Someone who argues against a position for the sake of debate | I’ll play devil’s advocate here and ask why you think your idea will work. |
| Don't cry over spilled milk | Don't dwell on past mistakes or problems | It’s too late to fix it now, so don’t cry over spilled milk. |
| Don't put all your eggs in one basket | Don't invest everything in one plan or idea | It’s risky to only invest in one stock; don’t put all your eggs in one basket. |
| Down to earth | Practical, sensible | She’s very down to earth, even though she’s famous. |
| Easier said than done | It’s easier to talk about something than to do it | Starting a business is easier said than done. |
| Every cloud has a silver lining | There’s something good in every bad situation | I know you're upset about the move, but remember, every cloud has a silver lining. |
| Face the music | Accept the consequences of your actions | He knew he had to face the music after missing his deadline. |
| Get a taste of your own medicine | Receive the same treatment you gave others | He finally got a taste of his own medicine when his friend pranked him back. |
| Get cold feet | Get nervous or anxious before a big event | She got cold feet before her speech and almost backed out. |
| Give someone the cold shoulder | Ignore or reject someone | After their argument, she gave him the cold shoulder for days. |
| Give the benefit of the doubt | Assume someone is innocent or correct | I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt until I have all the facts. |
| Hit the nail on the head | To describe exactly what is causing a situation | You really hit the nail on the head with your analysis of the problem. |
| Hit the sack | To go to bed | I’m exhausted, I think I’ll hit the sack early tonight. |
| In hot water | In trouble or facing difficulties | He’s in hot water after being caught cheating on the test. |
| In the nick of time | Just in time, at the last moment | We made it to the train station in the nick of time. |
| Jump on the bandwagon | To follow the crowd, adopt a popular trend | Everyone’s jumping on the bandwagon and buying the latest phone. |
| Keep your fingers crossed | Hope for a good outcome | Keep your fingers crossed that we get good news from the doctor. |
| Let the cat out of the bag | To reveal a secret | He let the cat out of the bag about the surprise party. |
| Like a fish out of water | To feel uncomfortable or out of place | I felt like a fish out of water at the dinner party because I didn’t know anyone. |
| Make a long story short | To summarize, to get to the point | To make a long story short, we missed the flight but caught the next one. |
| Make ends meet | To manage financially, often with difficulty | After the layoffs, it’s been hard to make ends meet. |
| On the ball | Alert, quick to respond | She’s always on the ball when it comes to handling customer complaints. |
| Once in a blue moon | Very rarely | He only visits us once in a blue moon, so it’s always special when he does. |
| Out of the blue | Unexpectedly, without warning | He called me out of the blue after years of not hearing from him. |
| Over the moon | Extremely happy or excited | She was over the moon when she found out she got the job. |
| Paint the town red | To celebrate or party in a lively way | After the concert, we decided to paint the town red and went out to several clubs. |
| Put all your cards on the table | To be open and honest | Let’s put all our cards on the table and discuss the issue openly. |
| Put your money where your mouth is | Take action on what you say | If you really believe in this idea, put your money where your mouth is and invest in it. |
| Rome wasn’t built in a day | Important things take time to achieve | Learning a new language is hard, but remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day. |
| Spill the beans | Reveal a secret | I accidentally spilled the beans about the surprise gift. |
| Steal someone's thunder | To take attention or praise away from someone else | She stole my thunder by announcing her pregnancy right after I shared my news. |
| Take the bull by the horns | To take charge of a situation, tackle it directly | He took the bull by the horns and confronted his manager about the issue. |
| The ball is in your court | It’s your turn to take action or make a decision | I’ve done all I can; now the ball is in your court. |
| The best of both worlds | A situation where you can enjoy two different opportunities | She has the best of both worlds, working from home and earning a good salary. |
| The elephant in the room | An obvious problem that everyone is avoiding | Let’s address the elephant in the room and talk about the budget cuts. |
| The last straw | The final problem or event that makes a situation unbearable | Missing the meeting was the last straw; I’m quitting this job. |
| Through thick and thin | In good times and bad times, loyal | She stood by me through thick and thin, and I’ll never forget that. |
| Under the weather | Feeling ill | I’m feeling a little under the weather, so I think I’ll stay home today. |
| Up in the air | Uncertain or undecided | Our vacation plans are still up in the air, depending on the weather. |
| Walk on air | To feel extremely happy or carefree | She was walking on air after hearing the good news about her promotion. |
| Wear your heart on your sleeve | To express your feelings openly | He wears his heart on his sleeve, so you always know how he’s feeling. |
| When pigs fly | Something that will never happen | I’ll believe he’s on time when pigs fly! |
| You can’t have your cake and eat it too | You can’t have two opposite things at once | If you want to be successful, you can’t have your cake and eat it too—you need to focus. |
| You can't judge a book by its cover | Don’t judge something solely based on appearance | He doesn’t look very friendly, but you can’t judge a book by its cover. |
There was a lot to learn! This table must have given you an idea of how common idioms in English work. This literary device is very useful in English literature. Another literary device is rhyming words. Besides, idioms are of many types. Let us categorize them into 4 categories for easy understanding and memorization.
This blog has divided the idioms into different categories. Here are 4 types of idioms in English that you can use daily:
The table below lists out idioms with animal names in them. Based on their meaning, think of a few sentences you can use in your daily life!
| IDIOMS AND PHRASES | MEANING |
|---|---|
| Cat got your tongue | Used to describe when someone is at a loss of words or being unusually quiet |
| kill two birds with one stone | To do one thing which will achieve two results |
| Ants in your pants | Not staying still due to excitement, worry, or anxiety. |
| Can of worms | To create a situation that causes a lot of problems when you start to deal with it. |
| The bee’s knees | To be of excellent or of an extremely high standard. |
| The lion’s share | They get the largest part of it, leaving very little for others. |
| Butterflies in your stomach | When you are anxious and have a nervous feeling in your stomach. |
| Black sheep | A member of the group that is different from others. |
| Bull in a china shop | They are careless in the way they move and behave. |
| Elephant in the room | Representing an obvious, very noticeable problem that people are avoiding to talk about. |
Here are some 'colourful idioms' with meaning to help you learn and practice commonly used idioms:
| IDIOMS AND PHRASES | MEANING |
|---|---|
| Give the green light | They give you permission to do something. |
| Green with envy | Very jealous and envious of someone. |
| Catch red handed | When someone is caught or discovered doing something bad or illegal. |
| With flying colors | To be extremely successful in doing something or achieving a goal. |
| Out of the blue | Suddenly or unexpectedly |
| Once in a blue moon | Very rarely, almost never |
| Red carpet treatment | Special treatment given to an important or honored guest |
| Feeling blue | Be depressed or sad |
| Tickled pink | Very happy and amused |
| Black and white | A situation or subject in which right and wrong are easy to understand. |
Also Read: 100+ Difficult Words in English with Meanings
Did you know you can bring food in the conversation without actually mentioning it? Here's how it is possible:
| IDIOMS AND PHRASES | MEANING |
|---|---|
| Piece of cake | Very easy |
| Cry over spilled milk | To fell sorry or depressed over something that has already happened and can’t be undone. |
| Spill the beans | To tell a person something that should be a secret. |
| Apple of my eyes | Someone important to you and you are extremely fond of them. |
| Take with a pinch of salt | To not completely believe something that you are told because you think it is unlikely to be true. |
| Bring home the bacon | To earn a living. |
| Cool as a cucumber | Calm and exerted. |
| Butter up | Flatter or praise someone as a means of gaining their help or support |
| In a nutshell | Something explained using a few words |
| Hard nut to crack | A difficult problem, or an individual who is difficult to deal with. |
Lastly, be more expressive with these weather themed idioms and learn their meanings to make your conversations more fun:
| IDIOMS AND PHRASES | MEANING |
|---|---|
| Under the weather | Feeling ill or unwell. |
| On cloud nine | Someone extremely happy or excited |
| Fairweather friend | A person who only joins you in your good times. |
| Get wind of | Begin to suspect that something is happening; hear a rumor of. |
| Calm before the storm | A period of unusual tranquility or stability that seems likely to presage difficult times. |
| Come rain or shine | Whatever happens |
| Every cloud has a silver lining | Even a very bad situation has a positive or hopeful side |
| Showed under | To have so much work that you have problems dealing with it all. |
| Raining cats and dogs | Raining extremely heavily |
| Head in the clouds | When someone’s ideas or plans are not practical or reasonable. |
These were commonly used four types of idioms in English and their meaning. However, many find it tough to use them in the right context. Thus, the next section will tell you how you can use them effectively.
As noted before, idioms can help you improve written or spoken English. Here are some tips to use idioms and phrases in English effectively:
To sum up, learning idioms in English is a fun way to get used to the language. Moreover, it also gives you a different perspective of speech. However, it is vital to note that it does not belong to academic or other formal writings. Also, you must only use them around the audience who knows what is idioms in English. Besides, if you are a study abroad aspirant and wish to study in an English-speaking country, you will have to take English language tests like IELTS, PTE, and TOEFL. Their speaking sections is where you are encouraged to use them. Idioms for IELTS are also helpful as they improve your competitive English skills.
Idioms and phrases in English are special as they help you express your emotions and thoughts accurately, enhancing your communication. Moreover, it makes it more effective and compelling.
Idioms can be used in writing as a literary device. This helps the author to give context with regard to the characters, setting, and speech. Moreover, common idioms in English can also be used while speaking. However, it is advised to use them as per the type of audience and their understanding.
The four types of best idioms in English are:
Yes, idioms and phrases in English are different in terms of their usage. An idiom is a phrase that has a different meaning. However, a phrase doesn’t have a hidden meaning which is different from the words used in it.
Some of the most famous idioms in English are:
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