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.
make mischief
to cause trouble.
Bob loves to make mischief and get other people into trouble.
make the fur fly and make the feathers fly
to cause a fight or an argument. (Informal.)
When your mother gets home and sees what you’ve done, she’ll really make the fur fly.
matter of life and death
a matter of great urgency; an issue that will decide between living and dying. (Usually an exaggeration; sometimes humorous.)
We must find a doctor. It’s a matter of life and death.
mine of information
someone or something that is full of information.
Grandfather is a mine of information about World War I.
no holds barred
with no restraints. (Informal. From wrestling.)
I intend to argue it out with Mary, no holds barred.
no love lost between someone and someone else and no love lost between people
no friendship wasted between someone and someone else (because they are enemies).
Ever since their big argument, there has been no love lost between Tom and Bill.
no skin off someone’s nose
no difficulty for someone; no concern of someone.
It’s no skin off my nose if she wants to act that way.
not able to see the wood for the trees
allowing many details of a problem to obscure the problem as a whole. ( Not able to is often expressed as can’t.)
The solution is obvious. You missed it because you can’t see the wood for the trees.
not hold water
to make no sense; to be illogical. (Said of ideas or arguments. Like a vessel or container that leaks, the idea has flaws or “holes” in it.)
Your argument doesn’t hold water.
nothing to it
it is easy; no difficulty involved.
Driving a car is easy. There’s nothing to it.
on active duty
in battle or ready to go into battle. (Military.)
The soldier was on active duty for ten months.
on the face of it
superficially; from the way it looks.
This looks like a serious problem on the face of it. It probably is minor, however.
once and for all
finally and irreversibly.
I want to get this problem settled once and for all.
open-and-shut case
something, usually a law-case or problem, that is simple and straightforward without complications.
The murder trial was an open-and-shut case. The defendant was caught with the murder weapon.
out of the frying-pan into the fire
from a bad situation to a worse situation.
When I tried to argue about my fine for a traffic violation, the judge charged me with contempt of court. I really went out of the frying-pan into the fire.
part and parcel of something
an essential part of something; something that is unavoidably included as part of something else.
This point is part and parcel of my whole argument.
pick a quarrel (with someone)
to start an argument with someone.
Are you trying to pick a quarrel with me?
pick holes in something
to criticize something severely; to find all the flaws or fallacies in an argument. (Informal.)
The solicitor picked holes in the witness’s story.
piece of cake
something very easy. (Informal.)
No, it won’t be any trouble. It’s a piece of cake.
pit someone or something against someone or something
to set someone or something in opposition to someone or something.
The rules of the tournament pit their team against ours.
plain sailing
progress made without any difficulty; an easy situation.
Once you’ve passed that exam, it will be plain sailing.
play devil’s advocate
to put forward arguments against or objections to a proposition—which one may actually agree with—purely to test the validity of the proposition. (The devil’s advocate was given the role of opposing the canonization of a saint in the mediaeval Church to prove that the grounds for canonization were sound.)
I agree with your plan. I’m just playing devil’s advocate so you’ll know what the opposition will say.
play someone up
to annoy someone.
That child played me up. He was naughty all day.
play up
to cause trouble; to be a nuisance. (Informal.)
My leg is playing up. It really aches.
pull something out of a hat and pull something out of thin air
to produce something as if by magic.
This is a serious problem, and we just can’t pull a solution out of a hat.
put one’s house in order
to put one’s business or personal affairs into good order.
There was some trouble at work and the manager was told to put his house in order.
put the cat among the pigeons and set the cat among the pigeons
to cause trouble or a disturbance, especially by doing or saying something suddenly or unexpectedly.
Meg put the cat among the pigeons by announcing that she was leaving home.
regain one’s composure
to become calm and composed.
I found it difficult to regain my composure after the argument.
rock the boat
to cause trouble; to disturb a situation which is otherwise stable and satisfactory. (Often negative.)
Look, Tom, everything is going fine here. Don’t rock the boat!
round on someone
to attack someone verbally.
Jane suddenly rounded on Tom for arriving late.
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.
