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.
(as) plain as a pikestaff
very obvious; clearly visible. ( Pikestaff was originally packstaff, a stick on which a pedlar’s or traveller’s pack was supported. The original reference was to the smoothness of this staff, although the allusion is to another sense of plain: clear or obvious.)
The ‘no parking’ sign was as plain as a pikestaff. How did he miss it?
airs and graces
proud behaviour adopted by one who is trying to impress others by appearing more important than one actually is.
She is only a junior secretary, but from her airs and graces you would think she was managing director.
at the bottom of the ladder
at the lowest level of pay and status.
Most people start work at the bottom of the ladder.
back to the drawing-board
[it is] time to start over again; [it is] time to plan something over again, especially if it has gone wrong. (Also with old as in the examples.)
The scheme didn’t work. Back to the drawing-board.
beard the lion in his den
to face an adversary on the adversary’s home ground.
I went to the solicitor’s office to beard the lion in his den.
beg off
to ask to be released from something; to refuse an invitation.
I have an important meeting, so I’ll have to beg off.
believe it or not
to choose to believe something or not.
Believe it or not, I just got home from work.
Box and Cox
two people who keep failing to meet. (Although they both sometimes go to the same place, they are never there at the same time. From characters in a nineteenth-century play, one of whom rented a room by day, the other the same room by night.)
Since her husband started doing night-shifts, they are Box and Cox. She leaves for work in the morning before he gets home.
breathe down someone’s neck
to keep close watch on someone, causing worry and irritation; to watch someone’s activities, especially to try to hurry something along. (Informal. Refers to standing very close behind a person.)
I can’t work with you breathing down my neck all the time. Go away.
bring home the bacon
to earn a salary. (Informal.)
I’ve got to get to work if I’m going to bring home the bacon.
bull in a china shop
a very clumsy person around breakable things; a thoughtless or tactless person. ( China is fine crockery.)
Look at Bill, as awkward as a bull in a china shop.
burn one’s boats and burn one’s bridges (behind one)
to go so far in a course of action that one cannot turn back; to do something which makes it impossible to return to one’s former position.
I don’t want to emigrate now, but I’ve rather burned my boats by giving up my job and selling my house.
bush telegraph
the informal, usually rapid spreading of news or information by word of mouth.
The bush telegraph tells me that the manager is leaving.
business end of something
the part or end of something that actually does the work or carries out the procedure.
Keep away from the business end of the electric drill in case you get hurt.
busman’s holiday
leisure time spent doing something similar to what one does at work.
Tutoring pupils in the evening is too much of a busman’s holiday for our English teacher.
by fits and starts
irregularly; unevenly; with much stopping and starting. (Informal.)
Somehow, they got the job done, by fits and starts.
by the sweat of one’s brow
by one’s efforts; by one’s hard work.
Tom grew these vegetables by the sweat of his brow.
call it a day
to leave work and go home; to say that a day’s work has been completed; to bring something to an end; to stop doing something. (Informal.)
I’m tired. Let’s call it a day even though it’s only three o’clock.
chance one’s arm
to do something risky or dangerous.
He certainly chanced his arm when he was rude to the boss’s wife.
change someone’s tune
to change the manner, attitude, or behaviour of a person, usually from bad to good, or from rude to pleasant.
The cashier was most unpleasant until she learned that I’m a bank director. Then she changed her tune.
cheesed off
bored; depressed; annoyed.
He was cheesed off with his job.
chop and change
to keep changing or altering something.
The shop is always chopping and changing staff.
clutch at straws
to seek something which is useless or unattainable; to make a futile attempt at something.
I really didn’t think that I would get the job. I was clutching at straws.
cock of the walk
someone who acts in a more important manner than others in a group.
The deputy manager was cock of the walk until the new manager arrived.
come a cropper
to have a misfortune; to fail. (Literally, to fall off one’s horse.)
Bob invested all his money in the shares market just before it fell. Did he come a cropper!
come down in the world
to lose one’s social position or financial standing.
Mr. Jones has really come down in the world since he lost his job.
come out in the wash
to work out all right. (Informal. This means that problems or difficulties will go away as dirt goes away in the process of washing.)
Don’t worry about their accusation. It’ll all come out in the wash.
come to the fore
to become obvious or prominent; to become important.
The question of salary has now come to the fore.
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.
cross the Rubicon
to do something which inevitably commits one to a following course of action. (The crossing of the River Rubicon by Julius Caesar inevitably involved him in a war with the Senate in 49 b.c. )
Jane crossed the Rubicon by signing the contract.
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.
