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.
daily dozen
physical exercises done every day. (Informal.)
My brother always feels better after his daily dozen.
daily grind
the everyday work routine. (Informal.)
I’m getting very tired of the daily grind.
damn someone or something with faint praise
to criticize someone or something indirectly by not praising enthusiastically.
The critic did not say that he disliked the play, but he damned it with faint praise.
damp squib
something which fails to be as successful or exciting as it promised to be. (Informal.)
The charity ball was a bit of a damp squib.
dance attendance on someone
to be always ready to tend to someone’s wishes or needs.
That young woman has three men dancing attendance on her.
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.
dark horse
someone whose abilities, plans, or feelings are little known to others. (From horse-racing.)
It’s difficult to predict who will win the prize—there are two or three dark horses in the tournament.
Davy Jones’s locker
the bottom of the sea, especially when it is the final resting place for someone or something. (From seamen’s name for the evil spirit of the sea.)
They were going to sail around the world, but ended up in Davy Jones’s locker.
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!
dead and buried
gone forever. (Refers literally to persons and figuratively to ideas and other things.)
Now that Uncle Bill is dead and buried, we can read his will.
dead centre
at the exact centre of something.
The arrow hit the target dead centre.
dead on one’s or its feet
exhausted; worn out; no longer effective or successful. (Informal.)
Ann is so tired. She’s really dead on her feet.
dead set against someone or something
totally opposed to someone or something.
I’m dead set against the new rates proposal.
dead to the world
sleeping very soundly. (Informal.)
He spent the whole plane journey dead to the world.
death to something
having a harmful effect on something; liable to ruin something.
This road is terribly bumpy. It’s death to tyres.
die a natural death
[for something] to fade away or die down.
I expect that all this excitement about computers will die a natural death.
die laughing
to laugh very long and hard. (Informal.)
The joke was so funny that I almost died laughing.
die of a broken heart
to die of emotional distress, especially grief over a lost love.
I was not surprised to hear of her death. They say she died of a broken heart.
die of boredom
to suffer from boredom; to be very bored.
I shall die of boredom if I stay here alone all day.
dig one’s own grave
to be responsible for one’s own downfall or ruin.
The manager tried to get rid of his assistant, but he dug his own grave. He got the sack himself.
dine out on something
to be asked to social gatherings because of the information one has.
She’s been dining out on the story of her promotion for months.
dirt cheap
extremely cheap. (Informal.)
Buy some more of those plums. They’re dirt cheap.
dirty look
a look or glance expressing disapproval or dislike. (Especially with get, give, receive.)
I stopped whistling when I saw the dirty look on her face.
do a double take
to react with surprise; to have to look twice to make sure that one really saw correctly. (Informal.)
When the boy led a goat into the park, everyone did a double take.
do an about-face
to make a total reversal of opinion or action.
Without warning, the government did an about-face on taxation.
do justice to something
to do something well; to represent or portray something accurately.
Sally really did justice to the contract negotiations.
do one’s bit
to do one’s share of the work; to do whatever one can do to help.
Everybody must do their bit to help get things under control.
do someone down
to do something to someone’s disadvantage.
He really did me down when he applied for the same job.
do someone good
to benefit someone.
A nice hot bath really does me good.
do someone proud
to treat someone generously. (Informal.)
What a good hotel. The conference has done us proud.
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.
