Idioms in English - Examples of 100+ Commonly Used Idioms and Their Meanings

If you are a person who loves to watch English movies and series, or if you have the habit of reading books and newspapers, you would have surely come across a number of idioms. There might have been situations where you felt you did not really understand what the characters were saying. Learn what idioms mean and how they are used. Once you do that, try rewatching or re-reading the parts you did not understand initially. You will surely have a good laugh.

Language learning need not always be a compulsive task. What if you can have fun with language? Would you try learning the language? Well, if your answer is yes, then the English language is one such language that lets you have a lot of fun while learning it. In this article, you will get to learn the meaning of idioms, their definition, how to use them, the most common idioms and their meanings. You can also take a look at the examples of idioms taken from movies, TV series and literature for a better understanding.

Table of Contents

What Is an Idiom? – Meaning and Definition

An idiom is a group of words, or in other words, a phrase that has a meaning different from the literal meaning of the words in it. According to the Oxford Learner’s Dictionary, an idiom is defined as “a group of words whose meaning is different from the meanings of the individual words”, and according to the Cambridge Dictionary, an idiom is defined as “a group of words in a fixed order that has a particular meaning that is different from the meanings of each word on its own”.

The Collins Dictionary defines an idiom as “a group of words which have a different meaning when used together from the one they would have if you took the meaning of each word separately.” The Merriam-Webster Dictionary provides a more elaborate definition. According to them, an idiom is “an expression in the usage of a language that is peculiar to itself either in having a meaning that cannot be derived from the conjoined meanings of its elements (such as up in the air for “undecided”) or in its grammatically atypical use of words (such as give way).”

Why Use Idioms in Sentences?

Idioms can be a powerful linguistic tool only when they are used in the right way in the right places. The only thing that makes learning idioms a time-consuming process is the fact that one cannot depend merely on the meaning of individual words to understand what the entire phrase means.

Idioms are not meant to be used in academic or professional writing. In a lighter context, the use of idioms can make your piece of writing or speech unique. Idioms can also be used to indicate pun or even sarcasm. Like any other components of a language, you have to be careful with the use of idioms as well. The only problem is that it would make no sense or effect to a group of people who do not know the meaning of the idiom you are using. So, always make sure you are using idioms with an audience who would be able to comprehend the meaning.

List of 100+ Common Idioms, Their Meanings and Examples of Their Usage in Sentences

To make your learning process a lot easier, here is a table with the most common idioms in the English language along with their meanings for your reference.

Idiom

Meaning

Sentence Example
Under the weather Feeling ill / Getting a cold My mom was feeling a bit under the weather.
Cold feet Becoming nervous It was her chance to speak and she was getting cold feet.
Apple of my eye Used to refer to someone whom you are very fond of or like My younger brother is the apple of my eye.
Set the record straight To reveal the truth / To clarify In order to set the record straight, the umpires checked the camera to review the previous shot.
Kill two birds with a stone Achieve two results by doing one thing None of us understood that he was trying to kill two birds with a stone when he joined the military forces.
Snowed under To be busy My father seems to have been snowed under for the last few weeks.
To break someone’s bubble To do or say something that proves someone else’s beliefs are not true Glint just broke my bubble when he said that he was a part of it.
Walk on eggshells To be very careful with your actions and words Talking to my mom about my grades made me feel like I was walking on eggshells.
Bite the bullet Finish something no matter how unsatisfying or unpleasant it is / Get something over with Danny had been putting off discussing the financial management of the company but decided to bite the bullet and talk to Sid today.
Make two ends meet To have just enough money for all your needs Harry and Hani are finding it really difficult to make two ends meet.
To be at loggerheads with someone To quarrel or disagree Jithin’s parents seem to be at loggerheads over something or the other all the time.
Pretty penny Expensive The dress she wants for her birthday will cost a pretty penny.
Break a leg Used instead of good luck The teacher asked us to break a leg at the annual day dance.
Through thick and thin At all times – both good and bad My friends are always there for me – through thick and thin.
Beat around the bush Not saying directly Jason’s neighbour kept beating around the bush and did not give a direct answer.
Hang in there Stay strong in a difficult situation Hang in there! Everything will be okay before you know it.
Cut corners Purchase something in the least expensive way or do something easily / reduce expenses I often cut corners in order to buy something for my brother.
Steal someone’s thunder Directing the attention and doing something to gain praise and preventing another person from gaining praise Monica claimed that Rachel tried to steal her thunder.
Call it a day To stop doing something After the movie, we had planned to go to the beach, but we decided to call it a day as everyone was tired.
Better late than never To do something rather than not doing Well, we thought it was better late than never, but where are the others?
Stick to your guns Stay morally strong or be firm in decisions especially when being opposed The lawyer asked Rakesh to stick to his guns if he wants to win the case.
Leave no stone unturned To look everywhere without missing a spot or to take every effort possible to achieve something The police were determined not to leave any stone unturned.
Clouds on the horizon Problems/ Trouble Vishnu sensed that there were multiple clouds on the horizon.
A blessing in disguise Something that you think is bad but turns out to be a blessing Me catching a cold was a blessing in disguise.
Blue in the face To be exhausted due to strain or anger Usha looked blue in the face after the marathon.
Make a long story short To say something in simple words in a brief manner We decided to cut the long story short and tell them what actually happened at the mall.
Cup of tea Not something that a person would do Cooking has never been Rachel’s cup of tea.
Beating a dead horse Overdoing something or an action that is pointless She was just beating a dead horse in thinking she could change his mind.
Speak of the devil A phrase used to refer to a person who appears as soon as they are being mentioned Speak of the devil! Here he comes.
Let sleeping dogs lie To stop discussing something that is already over or sorted out The police had warned us to let sleeping dogs lie and move ahead with our lives.
Let the cat out of the bag Reveal a secret carelessly Adharsh just let the cat out of the bag by revealing the gender of the baby.
Elephant in the room A controversial problem or a major issue We had to identify the elephant in the room before we made a decision.
To say in a nutshell To sum up the points and be brief The teacher asked us to quote the findings in a nutshell.
Worth its weight in gold To be highly valuable Every word of what you say is worth its weight in gold.
To weather the storm To go through something difficult My mom taught me how to stand strong and weather the storm.
A piece of cake An easy task Solving the Wordle everyday was just a piece of cake.
Get your act together To stop fooling around and do something in the way it should be done It is time you get your act together and do something useful.
Cost an arm and a leg Used to refer to something that is extremely expensive I think it will cost an arm and a leg to get the car my brother wants.
On top of the world A state of extreme happiness Niya seemed to be on top of the world since she heard the news of her son’s promotion.
Time is money To work quickly in the time that is left The manager encouraged the employees to realise that time is money and work harder.
Get out of hand Not in one’s control anymore The situation has gotten out of hand and there is nothing anyone here can do to help.
Like two peas in a pod Be together always My cousin and I are always like two peas in a pod.
Know which way the wind blows To understand what is happening As a detective, you are always obliged to learn which way the wind blows and then make a statement.
Hit the nail on the head To do something the exact way in which it should be done / Also refers to giving a direct answer Harish hit the nail on the head with his decision to buy this piece of land.
Catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar Getting what you want by being nice If you ask politely, you may be able to catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar.
Let someone off the hook Releasing someone or letting someone go The court decided to let the guy off the hook as there was no evidence proving his crime.
Like riding a bicycle A skill that you learn and will never forget Learning a language is like riding a bicycle; you will never forget it.
Blame one’s tools Blaming something on someone else When he understood he had no way out of the problem, he blamed his tools.
It’s not rocket science Not that difficult to comprehend Cooking sambar is easy; I will figure it out. After all, it is not rocket science.
Spill the beans Reveal a secret Remya spilled the beans about her sister coming to her mom.
Get the show on the road Start something or begin an enterprise The circus company had completed its trail run and was ready to get the show on the road.
Pull the last straw The final point in a series of unfortunate events when you feel you cannot take it anymore Sheetal decided to pull the last straw and inform the manager about what was happening in the office.
That ship has sailed It is too late to do something Norah said that she won’t be performing live anymore as she announced to the press, “That ship has sailed”.
It is always the darkest before dawn Something good is coming / Things will get better Do not be worried about what is going on in your life right now; it is always the darkest before dawn.
Have one’s head in the clouds To have no concentration at all I knew that you had your head in the clouds throughout the ceremony. What happened to you?
On thin ice Used to refer to a sensitive scenario or a person who is in trouble Zeke was on thin ice; he had to figure out a way to help his brother.
Give a cold shoulder Act rudely to someone Nobody knows why Dias gave Rayon a cold shoulder.
Cannot make an omelette without breaking some eggs Everything has a cost to pay You just have to understand that you cannot make an omelette without breaking some eggs.
Once bitten, twice shy Being extremely cautious as you have been hurt already Nitheesh has been extremely careful with making new friends. After all, once bitten, twice shy right?
Bolt from the blue Something that happens unexpectedly or without a warning The news of my friend’s pregnancy was a bolt from the blue.
When it rains, it pours When everything goes wrong at once They not only left home late but also got stuck in traffic. When it rains, it pours.
Miss the boat To act too slowly and miss an opportunity You will miss the boat if you wait any longer.
Pull someone’s leg To make fun of someone Kevin’s friends kept pulling his leg all evening.
No pain no gain Suffering or making efforts is required to achieve something It is better you start learning now. It will be difficult but no pain, no gain.
See eye to eye Have the same opinion or have the same point of view It is highly required that you both see eye to eye if you want this resolved.
Wear your heart on your sleeve To be extremely open about what you feel and think Divya wears her heart on her sleeve; she tends to get hurt very often.
Takes two to tango Two persons are equally responsible for what is happening or has happened It is not possible Sandhya is the only one involved. After all, it takes two to tango.
Come rain or shine No matter what happens Come rain or shine, I will be there for you.
So far so good Means that everything has turned out well until that point Everything so far has been so good.
Comparing apples to oranges To compare two things that are completely different and cannot be compared Comparing a doctor’s profession to a teacher’s profession is like comparing apples to oranges.
When pigs fly When something uncanny or impossible happens Pigs would fly if you cooked.
Curiosity killed the cat Asking too many questions or involving too much in other people’s affairs will get you into trouble It is better we don’t dig more into this case; curiosity killed the cat.
The best of both worlds Good in every way Having my best friend is the best of both worlds.
Burn bridges Do something to spoil relationships Susan did not realise she would be burning bridges when she took up the job.
The whole nine yards Refer to everything that is there He has to sell the whole nine yards if he wants to buy that house.
Grass is greener on the other side Never being satisfied with what one gets For her, grass is always greener on the other side.
Every dog has its day Everyone gets a chance Do not worry about it. Every dog has his day. Today, it is his.
Counting your chickens before they hatch Expecting good results before something is done She started counting her chickens before they hatched. That will only disappoint her; I hope she understands.
Go down in flames To fail terribly Everything went down in flames when we lost the lottery.
Adding fuel to the fire Aggravating the problem She was just adding fuel to the fire telling Tom’s mom about his health.
Wrap your head around something Try to make sense about what is going on My mom was finding it hard to wrap her head around the fact that I am getting married tomorrow.
Cut the mustard Do a perfectly good job The police cut the mustard in finding the gang that robbed the bank.
Jump from the frying pan into the fire Refers to a situation becoming worse He did not know he was jumping off the frying pan into the fire when he decided to speak about the problems at work.
Cry over spilt milk Worrying or complaining about something that cannot be fixed/rectified There is no use crying over spilt milk; you just have to move on with your life.
Have a method to one’s madness Seeming to be crazy but in fact, clever Everyone thinks he is crazy, but he sure has a method to his madness.
Do something at the drop of a hat Do something unplanned He can plan a whole trip at the drop of a hat.
Get wind of something To have information about something secret It is so hard to get wind of what is going on here.
Hear it from the horse’s mouth To know something from the person involved We finally heard it from the horse’s mouth.
Fit as a fiddle To be in good health My great grandmother is surprisingly fit as a fiddle.
Take everything with a pinch of salt Refers to being sceptic and not believing blindly My mom always asks to believe everyone with a pinch of salt.
A pain in the neck Refers to a person who is annoying Rayana was a constant pain in the neck.
The best thing since sliced bread A good and useful invention The smartphone is the best thing since sliced bread.
Walk in the other’s shoes To understand what the other is going through You will not understand unless you walk in their shoes.
Break the ice To make people feel comfortable with those who are unfamiliar to them The communication trainer conducted an activity to break the ice.
Having a monkey on your back To have a problem that you cannot solve or get rid off easily Not completing my degree is a monkey on my back.
Go on a wild goose chase Doing something pointless Finding the red and black dress I saw online felt like going on a wild goose chase.
Rain cats and dogs Raining heavily It has been raining cats and dogs since yesterday.
Once in a blue moon Very rarely We met each other only once in a blue moon.
Bark up the wrong tree Following a misguided or mistaken thought or action He did not know he was barking up the wrong tree.
Have the ball in one’s court One can make a call / decide on their own Rahul finally had the ball in his court.
Devil quoting the Bible Good things being twisted for selfish and evil purposes Mephistopheles speaking about going to heaven is like the devil quoting the Bible.
The devil is in the details Refers to something that seems to be good only from a distance Haven’t you heard the devil’s in the details?
Other fish in the sea More opportunities My father told me not to worry about the competition as there would be other fish in the sea.
A snowball’s chance in hell No chance at all at surviving You will require a snowball’s chance in hell to clear this exam.
Something ain’t over until the fat lady sings It is not over yet / there is more to the situation For all we know, this will not end until the fat lady sings.
Bounce off the walls To be extremely excited and energetic The children were bouncing off the walls the moment they heard about going to an amusement park this weekend.
As right as rain Something is perfect I don’t know about the others, but I feel that your decision is as right as rain.
To get bent out of shape To be upset, to take offence, to be angry My cousins have been bent out of shape after my uncle passed away.
Every cloud has a silver lining There is always some good in every thing that happens / Something good will happen after something bad Do not be worried about your current situation; after all, every cloud has a silver lining.
Play the devil’s advocate To argue or fight over something just for the sake of it We had no idea why he was playing the devil’s advocate when he knew what had happened.
Cross that bridge when we get to it Deal with the problem when it happens I know there are decisions to be made about the selling of the house but we will cross that bridge when we get to it. As of now, let us focus on this.
Throw caution to the wind To take a risk Gaurav threw caution to the wind in trying to save me from the accident.
A penny for your thoughts Used to ask someone what they are thinking I would like to give a penny for your thoughts.
Bite off more than you can chew To do more than you can My mom thinks that my brother is biting off more than he can chew by taking up a night job and a day job.
Judging a book by its cover Judge or form an opinion on someone based on appearances People are known to always judge a book by its cover.
Rain on one’s parade To spoil someone’s moment of praise / To spoil something Rachel did not really think she was raining on Monica’s parade when she announced about her new job.
By the skin of your teeth By a very narrow margin, the slightest if chances The doctors said that Manu had escaped serious injuries by the skin of his teeth.
Put all your eggs in one basket Doing something risky Rounak’s parents think that he is putting all his eggs in one basket.
Put something on ice To hold off something We decided to put the case on ice until we had some clue of what had happened.
Cannot have a cake and eat it too Cannot have everything for yourself It is not at all that you have the cake and eat it too.

Examples of Idioms

Now, take a look at some of the most common and funniest examples from various movies, TV series and books.

Idiom Examples from Movies

  • I could dance with you until the cows come home. – Duck Soup
  • Speak of the devil – Fast and Furious
  • This is the man with no name. Danger fits him like a glove. – A Fistful of Dollars
  • Look at this place! It looks wonderful. All spick-and-span. – Mrs. Doubtfire
  • I’ve got three items in the docket: First, we need to acknowledge the elephant in the room. – Zootopia

Idiom Examples from TV Series

  • Um, well, break a leg tonight. – This is Us
  • Not to burst your bubble but it’s not rocket science. – Manifest
  • Oh, perhaps I am a little under the weather. – The Big Bang Theory
  • The wedding is about to start when Monica gets cold feet. – F.R.I.E.N.D.S.
  • Stalin. Do I know that name? That sounds familiar. Well, it does not ring a bell with me. – F.R.I.E.N.D.S.

Idiom Examples from Books

  • “Nay, if our wits run the wild-goose chase, I am done, for thou hast more of the wild-goose in one of thy wits than, I am sure, I have in my whole five.” – Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
  • Scrooge signed it. And Scrooge’s name was good upon ‘Change, for anything he chose to put his hand to. Old Marley was as dead as a doornail.” – A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
  • “But I will wear my heart upon my sleeve for daws to peck at. I am not what I am.” – Othello by William Shakespeare
  • “I’ve got my hands full,” I said. “I’m much obliged but I couldn’t take on any more work.” – The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
  • “Though this be madness, yet there is method in’t.” – Hamlet by William Shakespeare

Frequently Asked Questions on Idioms in English

Q1

What is an idiom?

An idiom is a group of words, or in other words, a phrase that has a meaning other than its literal meaning of the words in it.

Q2

What is the definition of an idiom?

According to the Oxford Learner’s Dictionary, an idiom is defined as “a group of words whose meaning is different from the meanings of the individual words”, and according to the Cambridge Dictionary, an idiom is defined as “a group of words in a fixed order that has a particular meaning that is different from the meanings of each word on its own”.

Q3

Give 5 examples of idioms.

  • My brother and I are always at loggerheads.
  • Aaron was on cloud nine when I gave him cashew cookies.
  • We decided to put the case on ice until we had some clue of what had happened.
  • My father told me not to worry about the competition as there would be other fish in the sea.
  • The communication trainer conducted an activity to break the ice.