Idioms help you sound more natural in English. They make your speaking clear, strong, and confident. This dictionary is made for idioms learners. You can search any idiom easily. You can also learn idioms from A to Z. Topics are simple too, such as daily life, work, money, time, emotions, relationships, health, travel, nature, and weather.
Each idiom has a simple meaning. It also has a clear definition. You will also see an easy sentence for real conversation. The goal is not to memorize everything at once. Learn a few idioms daily. Read the sentence. Understand the meaning. Then try to use the idiom when you speak.
This dictionary helps you build better vocabulary. It also helps you understand English expressions faster. Use it daily and improve your idioms step by step.
cook the books
to cheat in bookkeeping; to make the accounts appear to balance when they do not.
Jane was sent to jail for cooking the books of her mother’s shop.
cool one’s heels
to wait impatiently (for someone). (Informal.)
I spent all afternoon cooling my heels in the waiting room while the doctor talked on the telephone.
cupboard love
affection shown to someone just because of the things, such as food or clothes, they supply.
She doesn’t love her husband. It’s just cupboard love.
cut one’s coat according to one’s cloth and cut one’s coat to suit one’s cloth
to plan one’s aims and activities in line with one’s resources and circumstances.
We would like a bigger house, but we must cut our coat according to our cloth.
Darby and Joan
an old married couple living happily together. (From a couple so-called in eighteenth-century ballads.)
Her parents are divorced, but her grandparents are like Darby and Joan.
daylight robbery
[an instance of] the practice of blatantly or grossly overcharging. (Informal.)
It’s daylight robbery to charge that amount of money for a hotel room!
early bird
someone who gets up or arrives early or starts something very promptly, especially someone who gains an advantage of some kind by so doing.
The Smith family are early birds. They caught the first ferry.
eat someone out of house and home
to eat a lot of food (in someone’s home); to bring someone to the point of financial ruin by eating all the food in the person’s house. (Informal.)
Billy has a huge appetite. He almost eats us out of house and home.
everything but the kitchen sink
almost everything one can think of.
When Sally went off to college, she took everything but the kitchen sink.
expecting (a child)
pregnant. (A euphemism.)
Tommy’s mother is expecting a child.
extend one’s sympathy (to someone)
to express sympathy to someone. (A very polite and formal way to tell someone that you are sorry about a death in the family.)
Please permit me to extend my sympathy to you and your children. I’m very sorry to hear of the death of your husband.
face the music
to receive punishment; to accept the unpleasant results of one’s actions. (Informal.)
Mary broke a dining-room window and had to face the music when her father got home.
Fair do’s!
Be fair!; Be reasonable!
Fair do’s! You said you would lend me your bike if I took your books home.
fight shy of something
to avoid something; to keep from doing something.
She fought shy of borrowing money from her father, but had to in the end.
find it in one’s heart to do something
to have the courage or compassion to do something; to persuade oneself to do something.
She couldn’t find it in her heart to refuse to come home to him.
find one’s feet
to become used to a new situation or experience.
She was lonely at first when she left home, but she is finding her feet now.
fix someone up (with something)
to arrange to provide someone with something. (Informal.)
We fixed John up with a room for the night.
forbidden fruit
someone or something that one finds attractive or desirable partly because the person or thing is unobtainable. (From the fruit in the garden of Eden that was forbidden to Adam by God.)
Jim is in love with his sister-in-law only because she’s forbidden fruit.
forget oneself
to forget one’s manners or training. (Said in formal situations in reference to bad table manners or bad taste.)
Sorry, Mother, I forgot myself. I didn’t mean to use a swear-word.
from pillar to post
from one place to another or to a series of other places.
My father was in the army, and we moved from pillar to post, year after year.
from stem to stern
from one end to another. (Refers to the front and back ends of a ship. Also used literally in reference to ships.)
Now, I have to clean the house from stem to stern.
get a black eye
to get a bruise near the eye from being struck. (Note: Get can be replaced with have. See the variations in the examples. Get usually means to become, to acquire, or to cause. Have usually means to possess, to be, or to have resulted in.)
I got a black eye from walking into a door.
get a tongue-lashing
to receive a severe scolding.
I really got a tongue-lashing when I got home.
get in someone’s hair
to bother or irritate someone. (Informal.)
Billy is always getting in his mother’s hair.
get one’s foot in the door
to achieve a favourable position (for further action); to take the first step in a process. (People selling things from door to door used to block the door with a foot, so it could not be closed on them. Also with have. See the note at get a black eye. )
I think I could get the position if I could only get my foot in the door.
get out of the wrong side of the bed
to get up in the morning in a bad mood.
What’s wrong with you? Did you get out of the wrong side of the bed today?
gild the lily
to add ornament or decoration to something which is pleasing in its original state; to attempt to improve something which is already fine the way it is. (Often refers to flattery or exaggeration.)
Your house has lovely brickwork. Don’t paint it. That would be gilding the lily.
give of oneself
to be generous with one’s time and concern.
Tom is very good with children because he gives of himself.
give some-one a start
to give one training or a big opportunity in beginning one’s career.
My career began when my father gave me a start in his act.
give something a lick and a promise
to do something poorly— quickly and carelessly. (Informal.)
John! You didn’t clean your room! You just gave it a lick and a promise.
How To Use Idioms Dictionary
- You can use this dictionary in different ways. Start with the idioms you hear often in movies, conversations, or online posts. Search them here and understand their real meaning. Then read the example sentence and try to speak your own sentence.
- You can also learn idioms by topic. Choose daily life idioms for normal conversation. Choose work and business idioms for office English. Choose money, time, emotion, relationship, health, travel, nature, and weather idioms to improve your topic-based vocabulary.
- A good way to learn is to save your favorite idioms in a notebook. Write the idiom, its meaning, and your own sentence. Review them after a few days. This will help you remember them better.
- Do not use idioms everywhere. Use them only when they fit the situation. The goal is to sound natural, not forced.
- Keep learning slowly. A few useful idioms daily can improve your English speaking a lot.
Here’s a separate section for kids: 100 Common Idioms for Kids
FAQs about Idioms Dictionary
An idiom is a group of words with a special meaning. You cannot always understand it by translating each word.
Type the full idiom or any main word in the search box. The dictionary will show matching idioms with meaning and sentence.
Start with a few idioms daily. Read the meaning, understand the sentence, and try to make your own sentence.
Yes. You can learn idioms by topics like daily life, work, money, time, emotions, relationships, health, travel, nature, and weather.
Yes. The meanings and sentences are written in simple English, so beginners can understand and practice easily.
Idioms help you sound more natural in English. Use them in the right situation to make your speaking more confident.
No. Use idioms only when they fit the situation. The goal is to sound natural, not forced.
