200 Idioms with their meanings for Kids with Sentences in English

Idioms are special phrases that have a meaning different from the words used in them. For kids, learning idioms is a fun way to understand how language can be creative and full of imagination. Idioms make conversations more colorful and interesting, and they also help children improve their English skills. When idioms are explained with easy meanings and pictures, it becomes much easier for kids to remember and use them in daily life. In this article, we will learn some common idioms with their simple meanings and pictures to make learning enjoyable and clear.

Table of Contents

Explore Idioms with Their Meanings for Kids

Idiom	Meaning	Sentence
Break the ice	Start a talk	She broke the ice today.
Hit the sack	Go to bed	I will hit the sack.
Piece of cake	Very easy	This game is a piece of cake.
Under the weather	Feeling sick	He feels under the weather.
Spill the beans	Tell a secret	She spilled the beans quickly.
Cry over spilt milk	Regret uselessly	Don’t cry over spilt milk.
Once in a blue moon	Very rare	We go there once in a blue moon.
Let the cat out	Share a secret	He let the cat out.
Cut corners	Do cheaply	Don’t cut corners in homework.
Out of the blue	Unexpectedly	A gift came out of the blue.
The ball is in your court	Your turn	Now the ball is in your court.
Kill two birds	Do two things	He killed two birds today.
Bite your tongue	Stop talking	I had to bite my tongue.
All ears	Listening carefully	The class is all ears.
Jump the gun	Act early	She jumped the gun quickly.
Keep your chin up	Stay strong	Keep your chin up, dear.
Cold feet	Nervous feeling	He got cold feet suddenly.
Break a leg	Good luck	Break a leg in exams.
In hot water	In trouble	He is in hot water now.
Cat nap	Short sleep	I took a cat nap.

Explore Idioms with Their Meanings for Kids

200 Idioms with Their Meaning for Children

Idiom	Meaning	Sentence
Hit the nail on the head	Say exactly right	You hit the nail on the head.
Under your nose	Very near	The toy was under your nose.
Raining cats and dogs	Heavy rain	It’s raining cats and dogs.
Barking up the wrong tree	Wrong idea	He is barking up the wrong tree.
Better late than never	Late is fine	Better late than never, friend.
Put a sock in it	Stop talking	Please put a sock in it.
Out of this world	Very amazing	That cake is out of this world.
On thin ice	Risky position	He is on thin ice now.
Burn the midnight oil	Work late	She burns the midnight oil daily.
Head in the clouds	Daydreaming	His head is in the clouds.
Monkey business	Naughty behavior	Stop this monkey business now.
Hit the road	Start journey	Let’s hit the road today.
Hold your horses	Wait patiently	Please hold your horses, dear.
Like two peas	Very similar	They are like two peas.
A dime a dozen	Very common	Mistakes are a dime a dozen.
Break the bank	Cost too much	That toy will break the bank.
Fish out of water	Feel uncomfortable	He felt like a fish out of water.
Keep an eye	Watch closely	Keep an eye on him.
Burn your bridges	End connection	He burned his bridges yesterday.
Easy come easy go	Easily lost	Money is easy come easy go.

200 Idioms with Their Meaning for Children

Essential Idioms with Their Meaning and Sentences for Children

Idiom	Meaning	Sentence
All in the same boat	Same situation	We are all in the same boat.
Back to square one	Start again	We are back to square one.
Bend over backwards	Try hard	She bent over backwards today.
Big fish	Important person	He is a big fish here.
Hit the jackpot	Big success	He hit the jackpot yesterday.
In black and white	Written clearly	It’s written in black and white.
The last straw	Final problem	That was the last straw.
Jump on the bandwagon	Join trend	He jumped on the bandwagon.
Keep your word	Do promise	Always keep your word.
Knock your socks off	Surprise greatly	That show knocked my socks off.
Leave no stone unturned	Try everything	She left no stone unturned.
Long story short	In brief	Long story short, we won.
Miss the boat	Miss chance	He missed the boat yesterday.
On cloud nine	Very happy	She is on cloud nine.
Out of the woods	Safe now	We are out of the woods.
Practice makes perfect	Practice improves	Practice makes perfect in drawing.
Rome wasn’t built in a day	Takes time	Remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day.
Small world	Unexpected meeting	Oh, it’s a small world.
Time flies	Time passes fast	Time flies with friends.
Wild goose chase	Useless search	It was a wild goose chase.

Essential Idioms with Their Meaning and Sentences for Children

Popular Idioms Meaning with Sentences for Kids

Idiom	Meaning	Sentence
A hot potato	Difficult topic	That issue is a hot potato.
Add fuel to the fire	Make worse	Don’t add fuel to the fire.
Against the clock	Hurry work	He worked against the clock.
Ballpark figure	Rough estimate	Give me a ballpark figure.
Backseat driver	Interfering person	Stop being a backseat driver.
By the book	Follow rules	He worked by the book.
Call it a day	Finish work	Let’s call it a day.
Change of heart	Different feeling	She had a change of heart.
Come rain or shine	No matter what	I’ll come rain or shine.
Devil’s advocate	Opposing view	He played devil’s advocate today.
Face the music	Accept blame	He faced the music bravely.
Go extra mile	Try harder	She went the extra mile.
Hit the ceiling	Get angry	Dad hit the ceiling yesterday.
Jump to conclusions	Decide quickly	Don’t jump to conclusions.
Let sleeping dogs lie	Avoid trouble	Let sleeping dogs lie, please.
On the fence	Undecided	He is still on the fence.
Play by ear	Decide later	Let’s play it by ear.
Pull strings	Use influence	He pulled strings for her.
Rock the boat	Create trouble	Don’t rock the boat here.
Rule of thumb	General rule	As a rule of thumb, study.

Popular Idioms Meaning with Sentences for Kids

Quick Idioms with Their Meaning for Children

Idiom	Meaning	Sentence
At the drop of a hat	Immediately	He left at the drop of a hat.
Be all thumbs	Clumsy	She is all thumbs today.
Break new ground	Do something new	He broke new ground yesterday.
By heart	Memorized	I know this poem by heart.
Cool as a cucumber	Very calm	She stayed cool as a cucumber.
Cross that bridge later	Worry later	We’ll cross that bridge later.
Easier said than done	Hard to do	It’s easier said than done.
Every cloud has silver lining	Something good	Every cloud has a silver lining.
Fall on deaf ears	Ignored	His words fell on deaf ears.
Food for thought	Something to think	That story is food for thought.
From scratch	From beginning	We made it from scratch.
Give the benefit of doubt	Trust someone	Give him the benefit of doubt.
Go down in flames	Fail badly	His plan went down in flames.
Have a blast	Enjoy greatly	We had a blast yesterday.
In the nick of time	Just in time	He came in the nick of time.
Keep fingers crossed	Hope well	Keep your fingers crossed.
Leave high and dry	Abandon	They left him high and dry.
Out of the frying pan	Into trouble	He jumped out of the frying pan.
Play with fire	Take risk	Don’t play with fire, kid.
Take with grain of salt	Don’t believe fully	Take his words with salt.

Quick Idioms with Their Meaning for Children

Helpful Idioms Sentences with Meanings in English

Idiom	Meaning	Sentence
At the end of the rope	Hopeless	She was at the end of her rope.
Back to the wall	No choice	He had back to the wall.
Bark worse than bite	Talk tough	Her bark is worse than her bite.
Beat around the bush	Avoid point	Stop beating around the bush.
Birds of a feather	Similar people	They are birds of a feather.
Burn out	Get tired	He got burned out quickly.
Cost an arm and a leg	Very costly	That toy costs an arm and a leg.
Curiosity killed the cat	Being curious harms	Remember, curiosity killed the cat.
Drive up the wall	Annoy	His noise drove me up the wall.
Elephant in the room	Obvious problem	That issue is an elephant in the room.
Few and far between	Very rare	Good friends are few and far between.
Give it a shot	Try	Give it a shot today.
Go bananas	Get crazy	The kids went bananas today.
Hand in glove	Working closely	They work hand in glove.
In a nutshell	In short	In a nutshell, we lost.
Just in case	For safety	Take water just in case.
Keep your head above water	Survive	He kept head above water.
Light at the end	Hope	There’s light at the end.
Out of thin air	From nowhere	The ball appeared out of thin air.
Read between the lines	Find hidden meaning	Read between the lines carefully.

Helpful Idioms Sentences with Meanings in English

Useful Idioms with Their Meanings for Kids

Idiom	Meaning	Sentence
Save for a rainy day	Save for the future	Save coins for a rainy day.
Steal someone’s thunder	Take credit	He stole her thunder yesterday.
Throw in a towel	Quit	He threw in the towel.
Turn a blind eye	Ignore	She turned a blind eye.
Twist arm	Force someone	He twisted my arm today.
Up in arms	Very upset	They are up in arms.
Wash hands of	Avoid responsibility	He washed his hands of it.
Water under the bridge	Past problem	That fight is water under the bridge.
Wear many hats	Many roles	She wears many hats daily.
When pigs fly	Impossible	He’ll study when pigs fly.
Word of mouth	Spread by people	News spread by word of mouth.
Zero tolerance	No acceptance	The school has a tolerance rule.
Zip your lip	Keep quiet	Please zip your lip now.
Chase rainbows	Follow dreams	He keeps chasing rainbows.
Break the ice	Start friendly	She broke the ice in class.
Go the whole hog	Do fully	He went the whole hog.
Keep nose clean	Stay out of trouble	He keeps his nose clean.
Out of pocket	Lost money	He was out of pocket.
Sit tight	Wait calmly	Just sit tight, dear.
Throw cold water	Discourage	Don’t throw cold water on it.

Useful Idioms with Their Meanings for Kids

Best Idioms with Their Meanings for Kids

Idiom	Meaning	Sentence
Apple of the eye	Very loved	She is the apple of eye.
Break the news	Tell news	He broke the news today.
Cold shoulder	Ignore someone	He gave me cold shoulder.
Down to earth	Simple person	She is down to earth.
Easier said than done	Hard to do	That’s easier said than done.
Face value	As it looks	Take it at face value.
Green thumb	Good at plants	Mom has a green thumb.
Hold the fort	Take charge	I’ll hold the fort here.
In deep water	In trouble	He is in deep water.
Jack of all trades	Many skills	He is a jack of all trades.
Keep at bay	Keep away	Keep mosquitoes at bay.
Lion’s share	Largest part	He took the lion’s share.
Make ends meet	Manage money	She makes ends meet daily.
No pain, no gain	Work hard	Remember, no pain, no gain.
Open secret	Known by many	It is an open secret.
Pass the buck	Shift blame	Don’t pass the buck here.
Quick fix	Short solution	That was a quick fix.
Rain on parade	Spoil plan	Don’t rain on my parade.
Speak of the devil	Person appears	Speak of devil, here he comes.
The tip of the iceberg	Small part seen	That’s just the tip of iceberg.

Best Idioms with Their Meanings for Kids

Everyday Idioms with Their Meanings for Kids

Idiom	Meaning	Sentence
A blessing in disguise	Hidden good	That loss was a blessing in disguise.
At the eleventh hour	Last moment	He came at eleventh hour.
Bite the bullet	Face bravely	She bit the bullet today.
Don’t count chickens	Don’t assume early	Don’t count your chickens yet.
Every dog has a day	Everyone succeeds	Every dog has his day.
Fall flat	Fail	His joke fell flat today.
Give cold feet	Cause nervousness	The exam gave him cold feet.
Hold tongue	Stay silent	Please hold your tongue now.
If looks could kill	Angry look	Her eyes could kill today.
Just deserts	Get what deserved	He got his just deserts.
Kick bucket	Die	The bird kicked the bucket.
Land on feet	Succeed safely	He landed on his feet.
Make mountain molehill	Exaggerate	Don’t make mountain out of molehill.
Neck of woods	Local area	He lives in this neck of woods.
Out of question	Impossible	That is out of question.
Put foot down	Be strict	She put her foot down.
Quick on draw	Act fast	He was quick on the draw.
Red tape	Rules	Too much red tape here.
Straight from the horse’s mouth	Direct source	I heard straight from horse’s mouth.
Throw weight around	Show power	He throws his weight around.

Everyday Idioms with Their Meanings for Kids

Discover Idioms with Their Meanings for Kids

Idiom	Meaning	Sentence
Actions speak louder	Actions show more	Actions speak louder than words.
Back to the drawing board	Start again	Back to the drawing board now.
The ball is rolling	Started	The ball is rolling now.
Beg to differ	Disagree	I beg to differ, friend.
Come clean	Tell truth	She came clean today.
Don’t put all eggs	Don’t risk	Don’t put all eggs together.
Fair and square	Honestly	He won fair and square.
Get a act together	Organize	Get your act together now.
Have the last laugh	Win finally	She had the last laugh.
In cold blood	Without mercy	He acted in cold blood.
Keep cards close	Keep secret	He keeps his cards close.
Live and learn	Learn mistakes	We live and learn daily.
Make waves	Create impact	He made waves yesterday.
Nail biting	Very exciting	The match was nail biting.
On the same page	In agreement	We are on same page.
Play safe	Avoid risk	Let’s play it safe.
Quitting cold turkey	Stop suddenly	He quit smoking cold turkey.
Rise and shine	Wake up	Rise and shine, kids.
Start from scratch	Begin again	We started from scratch today.
Think outside box	Be creative	Always think outside the box.

Discover Idioms with Their Meanings for Kids

Powerful Idioms with Their Meanings and Sentences with Pictures

Idiom	Meaning	Sentence
All bark no bite	Only talk	He is all bark no bite.
Big cheese	Important person	She is the big cheese here.
Burn the candle at both ends	Work too hard	He burns candle at both ends.
Close but no cigar	Almost won	Close but no cigar today.
Don’t bite the hand	Don’t harm	Don’t bite the hand that feeds.
Early bird	First person	Early bird gets the worm.
Fly off the handle	Get angry	He flew off the handle.
Get ducks in a row	Organize	Get your ducks in a row.
Hit below the belt	Be unfair	That was hitting below belt.
In the hot seat	Under pressure	He is in the hot seat.
Keep the wolf away	Stop hunger	Bread keeps the wolf away.
Last but not least	Important too	Last but not least, study.
Make hay	Use chance	Make hay while sun shines.
No stone unturned	Try everything	Leave no stone unturned always.
Off record	Secretly	He said it off the record.
Pull wool eyes	Trick	He pulled wool over my eyes.
Quiet as a mouse	Very quiet	She is quiet as a mouse.
Run out of steam	Lose energy	He ran out of steam.
Storm in a teacup	Small fuss	That’s just a storm in teacup.
Take bull horns	Face problem	Take bull by horns today.