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.
cost a pretty penny
to cost a lot of money.
I’ll bet that diamond cost a pretty penny.
cost an arm and a leg
to cost too much.
It cost an arm and a leg, so I didn’t buy it.
cost the earth
to cost an enormous sum of money. (Compare with pay the earth.)
That huge car must have cost the earth!
count heads
to count people.
I’ll tell you how many people are here after I count heads.
crack a bottle
to open a bottle. (Informal.)
Let’s crack a bottle of champagne to celebrate.
cramp someone’s style
to limit someone in some way.
Having her young sister with her rather cramped her style on the dance floor.
cross a bridge before one comes to it
to worry excessively about something before it happens.
There is no sense in crossing that bridge before you come to it.
cross one’s heart (and hope to die)
to pledge or vow that the truth is being told.
It’s true, cross my heart and hope to die.
cross swords (with someone)
to enter into an argument with someone.
I don’t want to cross swords with Tom.
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.
crux of the matter
the central issue of the matter. ( Crux is Latin for “cross.”)
All right, this is the crux of the matter.
cry one’s eyes out
to cry very hard.
When we heard the news, we cried our eyes out with joy.
cry over spilled milk
to be unhappy about having done something which cannot be undone. ( Spilled can also be spelled spilt. )
I’m sorry that you broke your bicycle, Tom. But there is nothing that can be done now. Don’t cry over spilled milk.
cry wolf
to cry out for help or to complain about something when nothing is really wrong.
Pay no attention. She’s just crying wolf again.
culture vulture
someone whom one considers to be excessively interested in the (classical) arts.
She won’t go to a funny film. She’s a real culture vulture.
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.
curl up (and die)
to retreat and die; to shrink away because one is very embarrassed.
When I heard you say that, I could have curled up and died.
curry favour (with someone)
to try to win favour from someone.
The solicitor tried to curry favour with the judge.
cut a fine figure
to look good; to look elegant.
Tom really cuts a fine figure on the dance-floor.
cut a long story short
to bring a story to an end. (A formula which introduces a summary of a story or a joke.)
And—to cut a long story short—I never got back the money that I lent him.
cut and dried
fixed; determined beforehand; usual and uninteresting.
I find your writing quite boring. It’s too cut and dried.
cut and thrust
intense competition. (From sword-fighting.)
Peter tired of the cut and thrust of business.
cut both ways
to affect both sides of an issue equally.
Remember your suggestion that costs should be shared cuts both ways. You will have to pay as well.
cut corners
to reduce efforts or expenditures; to do things poorly or incompletely. (From the phrase cut the corner, meaning to avoid going to an intersection to turn.)
You cannot cut corners when you are dealing with public safety.
cut it (too) fine
to allow scarcely enough time, money, etc., in order to accomplish something.
You’re cutting it too fine if you want to catch the bus. It leaves in five minutes.
cut no ice
to have no effect; to make no sense; to have no influence.
That idea cuts no ice. It won’t help at all.
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.
cut one’s eye-teeth on something
to have done something since one was very young; to have much experience at something.
Do I know about cars? I cut my eye-teeth on cars.
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.
