500 Idioms Meaning and Examples in English with Pictures

Idioms are common expressions that have meanings different from the literal meanings of the individual words. They are widely used in everyday conversations, stories, movies, speeches, and informal writing to make communication more natural and expressive. Common examples include break the ice, a piece of cake, spill the beans, and hit the nail on the head, each expressing a specific idea or situation. Learning idioms in English with meanings and examples is a useful way to improve vocabulary and understand natural communication. In this article, you will learn 500 Idioms Meaning and Examples and clear pictures, helping students, teachers, beginners, and English learners understand, remember, and use common idioms confidently.

Table of Contents

Idioms Meaning and Examples in English

Idiom	Meaning	Example Sentence
Break the ice	Start a friendly conversation	She told a joke to break the ice.
A piece of cake	Something very easy	The homework was a piece of cake.
Hit the nail on the head	Say something exactly right	You hit the nail on the head.
Under the weather	Feeling slightly sick	I am feeling under the weather today.
Spill the beans	Reveal a secret	Jake spilled the beans about our surprise.
Once in a blue moon	Very rarely	We visit that restaurant once in a blue moon.
Cost an arm and a leg	Be extremely expensive	That designer bag cost an arm and a leg.
Bite the bullet	Face something difficult bravely	She decided to bite the bullet.
Let the cat out of the bag	Reveal a secret accidentally	Tom let the cat out of the bag.
Burn the midnight oil	Work late at night	Maria burned the midnight oil studying.
On cloud nine	Extremely happy	He was on cloud nine yesterday.
Add fuel to the fire	Make a situation worse	His comment added fuel to the fire.
Beat around the bush	Avoid discussing something directly	Stop beating around the bush.
Call it a day	Stop working for now	We finished early and called it a day.
Go the extra mile	Make an additional effort	Our teacher goes the extra mile.
Keep an eye on	Watch something carefully	Please keep an eye on my luggage.
Miss the boat	Miss an opportunity	Apply now before you miss the boat.
Pull someone’s leg	Joke with someone	I was only pulling your leg.
Sit on the fence	Avoid choosing a side	He keeps sitting on the fence.
Through thick and thin	During good and bad times	She supported me through thick and thin.

Idioms Meaning and Examples in English

Examples of Idioms and Their Meanings

Idiom	Meaning	Example Sentence
Back to square one	Return to the beginning	Our plan failed, so we started again.
Bark up the wrong tree	Follow the wrong idea	You are barking up the wrong tree.
Get cold feet	Become nervous about something	He got cold feet before the wedding.
Hit the sack	Go to bed	I am tired and will hit the sack.
In hot water	Be in trouble	He is in hot water again.
Jump the gun	Act too soon	They jumped the gun and announced everything.
Kill two birds with one stone	Achieve two things together	I killed two birds with one stone.
Make ends meet	Manage financially	They work hard to make ends meet.
Out of the blue	Unexpectedly	She called me out of the blue.
Put all your eggs in one basket	Risk everything on one plan	Never put all your eggs in one basket.
See eye to eye	Agree completely	We finally see eye to eye.
Take it with a grain of salt	Doubt something slightly	Take his promises with a grain of salt.
The ball is in your court	It is your decision	I have answered; the ball is yours.
Up in the air	Not yet decided	Our travel plans are still up in the air.
Wrap your head around	Understand something difficult	I cannot wrap my head around this.
Your guess is as good as mine	I do not know either	Your guess is as good as mine.
Cross your fingers	Hope for good luck	Cross your fingers for my interview.
Easy does it	Proceed slowly and carefully	Easy does it with that glass.
Face the music	Accept unpleasant consequences	He must face the music now.
Get out of hand	Become difficult to control	The argument quickly got out of hand.

Examples of Idioms and Their Meanings

Useful Idioms Meanings With Examples in English

Idiom	Meaning	Example Sentence
Hang in there	Remain patient during difficulty	Hang in there; things will improve soon.
In the same boat	Share the same situation	We are all in the same boat.
Keep your chin up	Stay positive	Keep your chin up during difficult days.
Leave no stone unturned	Search everywhere thoroughly	The detectives left no stone unturned.
Make a long story short	Give only important details	To make a long story short, we left.
No pain no gain	Success requires effort	He trains daily because no pain means gain.
On the same page	Have the same understanding	Let us get on the same page.
Play it by ear	Decide as things happen	We have no plans; we will improvise.
Rain on someone’s parade	Spoil someone’s enjoyment	I hate to rain on your parade.
Steal someone’s thunder	Take attention from someone	She stole my thunder during the meeting.
Take the bull by the horns	Face a problem directly	She took the bull by the horns.
A blessing in disguise	Something helpful appearing harmful	Losing that job was a blessing in disguise.
Blow off steam	Release anger or stress	He exercises to blow off steam.
Cut corners	Do something cheaply or carelessly	The company cut corners during construction.
Get the ball rolling	Start something	Let us get the ball rolling.
Have bigger fish to fry	Have more important matters	I have bigger fish to fry today.
In the nick of time	Just before it is too late	We arrived in the nick of time.
Keep something under your hat	Keep something secret	Please keep this under your hat.
Learn the ropes	Learn how something works	New employees quickly learn the ropes.
Off the hook	Free from responsibility	You are off the hook today.

Useful Idioms Meanings With Examples in English

Simple Idioms Meaning and Examples in English

Idiom	Meaning	Example Sentence
Put your foot in your mouth	Say something embarrassing	I put my foot in my mouth.
Speak of the devil	Mention someone who appears	Speak of the devil, here comes James.
Take a rain check	Postpone an invitation	Can I take a rain check?
Throw in the towel	Give up	The team refused to throw in the towel.
Walk on eggshells	Act very carefully	Everyone walks on eggshells around him.
A dime a dozen	Very common	These souvenirs are a dime a dozen.
Burn bridges	Damage relationships permanently	Never burn bridges with former employers.
Cut to the chase	Get to the main point	Please cut to the chase.
Get a taste of your own medicine	Experience similar treatment	He got a taste of his medicine.
Hit the road	Leave or start traveling	We should hit the road early.
In a nutshell	In a few words	In a nutshell, the project succeeded.
Keep your cards close to your chest	Hide your intentions	She keeps her cards close to her chest.
Lose your touch	Lose a former ability	I think I have lost my touch.
On thin ice	In a risky situation	You are on thin ice now.
Pull yourself together	Calm yourself	Pull yourself together and continue working.
Read between the lines	Find hidden meaning	Read between the lines carefully.
The tip of the iceberg	Small visible part of something	This problem is merely the tip of iceberg.
Time flies	Time passes quickly	Time flies when we have fun.
Turn a blind eye	Ignore something deliberately	The manager turned a blind eye.
Weather the storm	Survive a difficult period	The business weathered the storm successfully.

Simple Idioms Meaning and Examples in English

Helpful Examples of Idioms With Meanings

Idiom	Meaning	Example Sentence
A drop in the ocean	A very small amount	Our donation was a drop in the ocean.
By the skin of your teeth	Barely succeed	She passed by the skin of her teeth.
Cry over spilled milk	Worry about past mistakes	Do not cry over spilled milk.
Down to earth	Practical and unpretentious	Despite fame, she remains down to earth.
Every cloud has a silver lining	Something good follows difficulty	Every cloud has a silver lining.
Get something off your chest	Share a troubling feeling	I need to get this off my chest.
Hit the books	Study seriously	I need to hit the books tonight.
In black and white	Clearly written or stated	The agreement is in black and white.
Keep your fingers crossed	Hope for good results	Keep your fingers crossed for tomorrow.
Live and learn	Learn from experience	I made mistakes, but live and learn.
Make a mountain out of a molehill	Exaggerate a small problem	You are making a mountain out of nothing.
On the spur of the moment	Without planning	We traveled there on the spur.
Put two and two together	Understand from available clues	She put two and two together quickly.
Ring a bell	Sound familiar	His name rings a bell.
Take the plunge	Make an important decision	They finally took the plunge together.
The last straw	Final problem causing action	His rude remark was the last straw.
Turn over a new leaf	Start behaving differently	She decided to turn over a new leaf.
When pigs fly	Something will never happen	He will apologize when pigs fly.
You can say that again	Strongly agree	You can say that again, friend.
Zip your lip	Keep quiet	Zip your lip about the surprise.

Helpful Examples of Idioms With Meanings

Idiomatic Expressions With Meanings and Examples

Idiom	Meaning	Example Sentence
Actions speak louder than words	Actions matter more than promises	Actions speak louder than words.
Add insult to injury	Make a bad situation worse	His criticism added insult to injury.
At the drop of a hat	Without hesitation	She travels at the drop of a hat.
At your fingertips	Easily available	Information is at your fingertips online.
Beat a dead horse	Discuss something unnecessarily	Stop beating a dead horse.
Better late than never	Late action is better than none	Better late than never, they say.
Bite off more than you can chew	Take on too much	I bit off more than I could chew.
By the book	According to rules	The officer does everything by the book.
Come rain or shine	Regardless of circumstances	We walk daily, come rain or shine.
Draw the line	Set a clear limit	We must draw the line here.
Get your act together	Become organized	You need to get your act together.
Give someone the cold shoulder	Ignore someone deliberately	She gave me the cold shoulder.
Go with the flow	Accept things as they happen	I prefer to go with the flow.
Have a change of heart	Change your opinion	He had a change of heart.
In the long run	Over a long period	This choice will help in the long run.
Keep something at bay	Prevent something from approaching	Exercise keeps stress at bay.
Know the ropes	Understand how something works	She knows the ropes already.
Make up your mind	Decide something	Please make up your mind soon.
Not my cup of tea	Not something I like	Horror movies are not my cup of tea.
Put your cards on the table	Be completely honest	It is time to put your cards.

Idiomatic Expressions With Meanings and Examples

Idioms Examples Sentences with Meaning in English

Idiom	Meaning	Example Sentence
See the light	Finally understand something	He finally saw the light.
A storm in a teacup	A small issue exaggerated	Their argument was a storm in a teacup.
Go back to the drawing board	Start planning again	We went back to the drawing board.
Give it a shot	Try something	Give it a shot before quitting.
Go bananas	Become very excited or angry	The crowd went bananas after winning.
Hold your horses	Wait or slow down	Hold your horses; we are not ready.
In the same breath	Mention two things together	She praised and criticized him alike.
Keep something in mind	Remember something	Keep this advice in mind.
Leave someone high and dry	Abandon someone	They left us high and dry.
Make yourself at home	Feel comfortable somewhere	Please make yourself at home here.
On the ball	Alert and capable	Our new assistant is really on the ball.
Out of the woods	Free from difficulty	We are finally out of the woods.
Put your money where your mouth is	Support words with action	Now put your money where your mouth is.
Saved by the bell	Rescued by timely interruption	The teacher arrived and saved me.
Take a back seat	Accept less importance	Personal issues must take a back seat.
The whole nine yards	Everything possible	They provided the whole nine yards.
Throw caution to the wind	Act without worrying	He threw caution to the wind.
Turn the tables	Reverse the situation	Our team turned the tables quickly.
Under your nose	Clearly visible but unnoticed	The keys were under your nose.
Water under the bridge	Something finished and forgotten	Our disagreement is water under the bridge.

Idioms Examples Sentences with Meaning in English

Idioms for kids with Meaning and Example

Idiom	Meaning	Example Sentence
A hard nut to crack	A difficult person or problem	This puzzle is a hard nut to crack.
A hot potato	A sensitive or difficult issue	The topic became a hot potato.
All ears	Listening carefully	I am all ears, so continue.
An open book	Someone easy to understand	My sister is an open book.
Break a leg	Wish someone good luck	Break a leg before your performance.
Bring home the bacon	Earn money for the family	She works hard to bring home bacon.
Call the shots	Make important decisions	The director calls the shots here.
Change of pace	Something different from normal	A walk provided a change of pace.
Come to terms with	Accept a difficult reality	He came to terms with failure.
Devil’s advocate	Someone arguing an opposing view	She played devil’s advocate during discussions.
Get wind of	Hear about something secretly	We got wind of their plans.
Give someone a hand	Help someone	Can you give me a hand?
Go the whole hog	Do something completely	They went the whole hog with decorations.
Have second thoughts	Begin doubting a decision	She had second thoughts about moving.
In deep water	In serious trouble	He is in deep water now.
Keep your nose clean	Avoid trouble	He tries to keep his nose clean.
Make ends meet	Manage available money	Many families struggle to make ends meet.
Pull strings	Use influence to get something	He pulled strings to secure tickets.
Take someone for granted	Fail to appreciate someone	Never take your parents for granted.
The best of both worlds	Benefits from two situations	Remote work offers the best of both worlds.

Idioms for kids with Meaning and Example

Idioms list with meanings and Sentences

Idiom	Meaning	Example Sentence
A leopard cannot change its spots	People rarely change their nature	A leopard cannot change its spots.
A taste of your own medicine	Similar unpleasant treatment	He received a taste of his medicine.
Add fuel to the flames	Intensify an existing problem	His words added fuel to the flames.
All in the same boat	Facing the same difficulty	We are all in the same boat.
At the eleventh hour	At the last possible moment	They submitted everything at the eleventh hour.
Barking up the wrong tree	Pursuing a mistaken idea	You are barking up the wrong tree.
Break new ground	Do something innovative	The scientists broke new ground recently.
By word of mouth	Through spoken communication	We heard about it by word of mouth.
Get the hang of	Learn how something works	She quickly got the hang of it.
Go down in flames	Fail dramatically	Their business went down in flames.
Have a sweet tooth	Love sweet foods	My brother has a sweet tooth.
In the blink of an eye	Very quickly	The bird disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Keep an open mind	Stay willing to consider ideas	Try to keep an open mind.
Let sleeping dogs lie	Avoid restarting old conflicts	We should let sleeping dogs lie.
Make a killing	Earn a lot of money	He made a killing selling antiques.
Off the record	Not officially reported	The journalist spoke off the record.
On the fence	Unable to decide	I am still on the fence.
Put the cart before the horse	Do things in wrong order	You are putting the cart before the horse.
Take with a pinch of salt	Treat information skeptically	Take online rumors with a pinch of salt.
The writing on the wall	Signs of coming trouble	The writing on the wall was clear.

Idioms list with meanings and Sentences

Discover Idioms Meaning and Examples in English

Idiom	Meaning	Example Sentence
A change of heart	A change in feelings	She had a change of heart.
A fish out of water	Someone feeling uncomfortable	I felt like a fish out of water.
A slap on the wrist	Mild punishment	He received a slap on the wrist.
Back on your feet	Recovered from difficulty	She is back on her feet now.
Blow your own trumpet	Praise yourself	He always blows his own trumpet.
Break the bank	Cost too much money	This vacation will not break the bank.
Bring something to light	Reveal hidden information	The investigation brought new facts to light.
Cross that bridge when you come to it	Deal with problems later	We will cross that bridge later.
Don’t put all your eggs in one basket	Avoid depending on one thing	Do not put all eggs in one basket.
Get your foot in the door	Gain an initial opportunity	This internship got her foot in the door.
Give someone the benefit of the doubt	Trust despite uncertainty	I gave him the benefit of doubt.
Go cold turkey	Stop something suddenly	He quit smoking cold turkey.
Have your hands full	Be very busy	I have my hands full today.
In a pickle	In a difficult situation	We are in a pickle now.
Keep your head above water	Manage despite difficulties	She works hard to stay afloat.
On top of the world	Extremely happy	She felt on top of the world.
Put something on ice	Delay something	We put the project on ice.
See eye to eye	Agree with someone	They rarely see eye to eye.
Steer clear of	Avoid someone or something	Please steer clear of that area.
Throw someone under the bus	Blame someone unfairly	He threw his colleague under the bus.

Discover Idioms Meaning and Examples in English

Idioms Meaning in English and Examples

Idiom	Meaning	Example Sentence
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush	A sure thing is better than possibilities	A bird in hand is worth two.
A penny for your thoughts	Ask what someone is thinking	A penny for your thoughts, Sarah?
Beat around the bush	Avoid the main subject	Please stop beating around the bush.
Bite the hand that feeds you	Harm someone who helps you	Never bite the hand that feeds you.
Break a sweat	Begin to sweat from effort	I barely broke a sweat today.
Burn your fingers	Suffer from a risky action	He burned his fingers investing carelessly.
Carry the world on your shoulders	Carry many responsibilities	She carries the world on her shoulders.
Come rain or shine	Regardless of circumstances	He works daily, come rain or shine.
Get a second wind	Regain energy after tiredness	I got a second wind after dinner.
Give the green light	Give permission to proceed	The manager gave us the green light.
Go against the grain	Act contrary to normal expectations	His decision went against the grain.
Have your cake and eat it	Want two incompatible benefits	You cannot have your cake and eat it.
Keep something under wraps	Keep something secret	The company kept the news under wraps.
Know something inside out	Know something extremely well	She knows the software inside out.
Leave well enough alone	Avoid unnecessary changes	Sometimes it is best to leave things.
Make waves	Cause noticeable change or trouble	The new policy made waves.
Put your foot down	Refuse firmly	Her father put his foot down.
Take the wind out of someone’s sails	Reduce someone’s confidence	The criticism took wind from his sails.
Throw in the towel	Give up completely	They refused to throw in the towel.
Turn over a new leaf	Begin behaving differently	He turned over a new leaf.