100 Idioms and Their Meanings! Many people know that idioms are expressions whose meaning cannot be understood from the literal definition of the words that make them up. For example, the phrase “it’s raining cats and dogs” does not literally mean that there are animals falling from the sky.
Instead, it is used to describe heavy rain. Idioms can be a great way to add color to your writing or speech, but they can also be confusing for people who are not familiar with them. To help you navigate this minefield, here are 100 popular idioms and their meanings.
100 Idioms and Their Meanings
Related: 500 Idioms and Meaning
Below are 100 Important idioms in English and their meanings. Download this list of idioms in PDF, Here.
1- “Add Fuel To The Fire”
Meaning: make a bad situation worse
2- “Beat Around The Bush”
Meaning: avoid talking about something directly
3- “Biting Off More Than You Can Chew”
Meaning: taking on more than you can handle
4- “Blown Away”
Meaning: highly impressed
5- “Closed Doors”
Meaning: private, not for public discussion
6- “Cry Over Spilled Milk”
Meaning: worrying about something that cannot be changed
7- “Curiosity Killed The Cat”
Meaning: beware of taking risks
8- “Cut Corners”
Meaning: do something poorly in order to save time or money
9- “Death Warmed Up”
Meaning: very pale and sick-looking
10- “Don’t Judge A Book By Its Cover”
Meaning: don’t assume something is good
11- “Easy As Pie”
Meaning: very easy
12- “Feeling Under The Weather”
Meaning: not feeling well
13- “Few And Far Between”
Meaning: not many and widely spaced apart
14- “Get Your Act Together”
Meaning: improve your behavior or performance
15- “Go Back To The Drawing Board”
Meaning: start something again from the beginning
16- “Hang In There”
Meaning: persevere
17- “Have A Blast”
Meaning: have a great time
18- “Hit The Nail On The Head”
Meaning: say or do exactly the right thing
19- “In A Nutshell”
Meaning: in a few words
20- “It Takes Two To Tango”
Meaning: both people are responsible for a situation
21- “Jump On The Bandwagon”
Meaning: start doing something because it is popular
22- “Just What The Doctor Ordered”
Meaning: exactly what is needed
23- “Kill Two Birds With One Stone”
Meaning: accomplish two tasks at the same time
24- “Let Sleeping Dogs Lie”
Meaning: don’t make a problem worse by bringing it up
25- “Look Before You Leap”
Meaning: think about the possible consequences before doing something
26- “Make A Mountain Out Of A Molehill”
Meaning: make a small problem seem much bigger than it is
27- “Miss The Boat”
Meaning: miss an opportunity
28- “Neck And Neck”
Meaning: even, close
29- “Once In A Blue Moon”
Meaning: very rare
30- “Play Hardball”
Meaning: be tough or aggressive
31- “Pull Somebody’s Leg”
Meaning: tease or trick somebody
32- “Reinvent The Wheel”
Meaning: do something that has already been done many times before
33- “Sell Like Hotcakes”
Meaning: sell very quickly
34- “Sitting On The Fence”
Meaning: not being able to make a decision
35- “Skeleton In The Closet”
Meaning: a secret that could be embarrassing if it was made public
36- “Strike While The Iron Is Hot”
Meaning: take advantage of an opportunity while it is available
37- “The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread”
Meaning: something that is much better than anything else
38- “The Proof Is In The Pudding”
Meaning: you will only know if something is good or not after it has been completed
39- “Throw In The Towel”
Meaning: give up
40- “Under The Weather”
Meaning: not feeling well
41- “Until The Cows Come Home”
Meaning: for a very long time
42- “Walk On Eggshells”
Meaning: be careful not to upset somebody
43- “When Pigs Fly”
Meaning: never going to happen
44- “You Can’t Make A Silk Purse Out Of A Sow’s Ear”
Meaning: you can’t make something good from something bad
45- “Add Insult To Injury”
Meaning: make a bad situation worse by doing or saying something unkind
46- “Back To The Drawing Board”
Meaning: start again from the beginning
47- “Barking Up The Wrong Tree”
Meaning: looking in the wrong place for something
48- “Beating A Dead Horse”
Meaning: wasting time on something that has already been decided
49- “Bent Out Of Shape”
Meaning: angry or upset
50- “Blow Hot And Cold”
Meaning: keep changing your mind
51- “By The Skin Of Your Teeth”
Meaning: just barely, only just
52- “Call It A Day”
Meaning: stop working for the day
53- “Cry Over Spilt Milk”
Meaning: don’t worry about something that has already happened and can’t be changed
54- “Easy As Pie”
Meaning: very easy
55- “Few And Far Between”
Meaning: not many and widely spaced apart
56- “Get Your Act Together”
Meaning: improve your behavior or performance
57- “Go Back To The Drawing Board”
Meaning: start something again from the beginning
58- “Hang In There”
Meaning: persevere
59- “Have A Blast”
Meaning: have a great time
60- “Hit The Nail On The Head”
Meaning: say or do exactly the right thing
61- “In A Nutshell”
Meaning: in a few words
62- “It Takes Two To Tango”
Meaning: both people are responsible for a situation
63- “Jump On The Bandwagon”
Meaning: start doing something because it is popular
64- “Just What The Doctor Ordered”
Meaning: exactly what is needed
65- “Kill Two Birds With One Stone”
Meaning: accomplish two tasks at the same time
66- “Let Sleeping Dogs Lie”
Meaning: don’t make a problem worse by bringing it up
67- “Look Before You Leap”
Meaning: think about the possible consequences before doing something
68- “Make A Mountain Out Of A Molehill”
Meaning: make a small problem seem much bigger than it is
69- “Miss The Boat”
Meaning: miss an opportunity
70- “Neck And Neck”
Meaning: even, close
71- “Once In A Blue Moon”
Meaning: very rare
72- “Play Hardball”
Meaning: be tough or aggressive
73- “Pull Somebody’s Leg”
Meaning: tease or trick somebody
74- “Reinvent The Wheel”
Meaning: do something that has already been done many times before
75- “Sell Like Hotcakes”
Meaning: sell very quickly
76- “Sitting On The Fence”
Meaning: not being able to make a decision
77- “Skeleton In The Closet”
Meaning: a secret that could be embarrassing if it was made public
78- “Strike While The Iron Is Hot”
Meaning: take advantage of an opportunity while it is available
79- “The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread”
Meaning: something that is much better than anything else
80- “The Proof Is In The Pudding”
Meaning: you will only know if something is good or not after it has been completed
81- “Throw In The Towel”
Meaning: give up
82- “Under The Weather”
Meaning: not feeling well
83- “Until The Cows Come Home”
Meaning: for a very long time
84- “Walk On Eggshells”
Meaning: be careful not to upset Somebody
85- “When Pigs Fly”
Meaning: never going to happen
86- “You Can’t Make A Silk Purse Out Of A Sow’s Ear”
Meaning: you can’t make something good from something bad
87- “Sour Grapes”
Meaning: feeling angry or disappointed because you can’t have something that you want
88- “The Grass Is Always Greener On The Other Side”
Meaning: other people’s lives or situations always seem better than your own
89- “There’s No Time Like The Present”
Meaning: now is the best time to do something
90- “You Can’t Judge A Book By Its Cover”
Meaning: you can’t know what something or someone is like by looking at them
91- “Actions Speak Louder Than Words”
Meaning: what somebody does is more important than what they say
92- “Easy Come, Easy Go”
Meaning: money that is earned or lost easily is not valued as much
93- “Every Cloud Has A Silver Lining”
Meaning: bad things always have some good aspects
94- “Time Heals All Wounds”
Meaning: eventually you will stop feeling upset about something bad that has happened
95- “You Can’t Make An Omelet Without Breaking Eggs”
Meaning: you can’t have a good result without first experiencing some problems
96- “All’s Fair In Love And War”
Meaning: anything is acceptable in a situation where people are fighting over something or trying to win somebody’s love
97- “Blood Is Thicker Than Water”
Meaning: family relationships are more important than others
98- “Curiosity Killed The Cat”
Meaning: it is not always advisable to investigate something that you are not supposed to know about
99- “Hell Hath No Fury Like A Woman Scorned”
Meaning: a woman who has been rejected or betrayed will be very angry
100- “You Can’t Have Your Cake And Eat It Too”
Meaning: you can’t have both of two things that you want; you have to choose one or the other
Related: 50 Idiomatic Expressions Examples Meaning
Idioms and Their Meaning – Infographics
