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.
pack someone off (to somewhere)
to send someone away to somewhere, often with the suggestion that one is glad to do so.
His parents packed him off to boarding-school as soon as possible.
pack them in
to draw a lot of people. (Informal.)
It was a good night at the theatre. The play really packed them in.
packed out
very crowded; containing as many people as possible. (Informal.)
The theatre was packed out.
paddle one’s own canoe
to do (something) by oneself; to be alone.
I’ve been left to paddle my own canoe since I was a child.
pain in the neck
a bother; an annoyance. (Informal.)
This assignment is a pain in the neck.
pale around the gills and green around the gills; green about the gills
looking sick. (Informal.)
John is looking a little pale around the gills. What’s wrong?
paper over the cracks (in something)
to try to hide faults or difficulties, often in a hasty or not very successful way.
The politician tried to paper over the cracks in his party’s economic policy.
par for the course
typical; about what one could expect. (This refers to a golf-course.)
So he went off and left you? Well, that’s about par for the course. He’s no friend.
parrot-fashion
without understanding the meaning of what one has learnt, is saying, etc.
The child learnt the poem by heart and repeated it parrot-fashion.
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.
parting of the ways
a point at which people separate and go their own ways. (Often with come to a, arrive at a, reach a, etc.)
Jane and Bob finally came to a parting of the ways and divorced.
party line
the official ideas and attitudes which are adopted by the leaders of a particular group, usually political, and which the other members are expected to accept.
Tom has left the club. He refused to follow the party line.
pass as someone or something
to succeed in being accepted as someone or something.
The spy was able to pass as a normal citizen.
pass muster
to measure up to the required standards.
I tried my best, but my efforts didn’t pass muster.
pass the buck
to pass the blame (to someone else); to give the responsibility (to someone else). (Informal.)
Don’t try to pass the buck! It’s your fault, and everybody knows it.
pass the hat round
to attempt to collect money for some (charitable) project.
Bob is passing the hat round to collect money to buy flowers for Ann.
pass the time of day (with someone)
to chat or talk informally with someone. (Informal.)
I saw Mr. Brown in town yesterday. I stopped and passed the time of day with him.
past someone’s or something’s best and past someone’s or something’s sell-by date; past it
less good or efficient now than someone or something was before. ( Past it and past someone’s or something’s sell-by date are informal.)
Joan was a wonderful singer, but she’s past her best now.
pay an arm and a leg (for something) and pay through the nose (for something)
to pay too much money for something. (Informal.)
I hate to have to pay an arm and a leg for a tank of petrol.
pay lip-service (to something)
to express loyalty, respect, or support for something insincerely.
You don’t really care about politics. You’re just paying lip-service to the candidate.
pay one’s debt to society
to serve a sentence for a crime, usually in prison.
The judge said that Mr. Simpson had to pay his debt to society.
pay one’s dues
to pay the fees required to belong to an organization.
If you haven’t paid your dues, you can’t come to the club picnic.
pay someone a back-handed compliment
to give someone an apparent compliment that is really an insult.
John said that he had never seen me looking better. I think he was paying me a backhanded compliment.
pay someone a compliment
to compliment someone.
Sally thanked me for paying her a compliment.
pay the earth
to pay a great deal of money for something. (Informal. Compare with cost the earth.)
Bob paid the earth for that ugly old sideboard.
pay the piper
to provide the money for something and so have some control over how the money is spent. (From the expression “He who pays the piper calls the tune.”)
The parents at a fee-paying school pay the piper and so should have a say in how the school is run.
pick a quarrel (with someone)
to start an argument with someone.
Are you trying to pick a quarrel with me?
pick and choose
to choose very carefully from a number of possibilities; to be selective.
You must take what you are given. You cannot pick and choose.
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.
pick on someone
to criticize someone or something constantly; to abuse someone or something. (Informal.)
Stop picking on me!
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.
