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Common English Idioms with Meanings (PDF)

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When learning English, understanding common English idioms with their meanings is essential for sounding more fluent and natural. Idioms are phrases whose meanings aren’t always clear from the individual words, but they are used frequently in everyday conversations. Mastering these idiomatic expressions will help you communicate more effectively in English and better understand native speakers.

In this post, we’ll explore 20 common English idioms with their meanings to enhance your language skills.

What Are Idioms?

Idioms are phrases that have a figurative meaning, different from their literal meaning. Learning idioms will help you understand English conversations more easily and use language that sounds natural to native speakers.

a list shows common English phrases and idiom alternatives for them — English Idioms

Below is a list of common phrases with their idiomatic equivalents.

40 Common Phrases and Their Idiomatic Equivalents

Normal Phrase	Idiomatic Phrase
Very happy	Over the moon
Very easy	A piece of cake
Very tired	Worn out
Very quickly	In a heartbeat
Very expensive	Costs an arm and a leg
To relax	To let your hair down
To understand	To get the picture
To get married	To tie the knot
To be undecided	To sit on the fence
To be busy	To be swamped
To reveal a secret	To spill the beans
To make a decision	To take the plunge
To feel nervous	Butterflies in your stomach
To be brave	To have the guts
To stay calm	To keep your cool
To avoid the issue	To beat around the bush
To become angry	To hit the roof
To be honest	To come clean
To stop working	To call it a day
To ignore someone	To give someone the cold shoulder
To make a mistake	To slip up
To be very busy	To have a lot on one’s plate
To improve slowly	To make headway
To be very close friends	To be thick as thieves
To be in trouble	To be in hot water
To be successful	To hit the jackpot
To take a risk	To roll the dice
To be very excited	To be on cloud nine
To be under pressure	To be under the gun
To work very hard	To burn the midnight oil
To be very old	To be over the hill
To forget something	To slip one’s mind
To take a break	To take five
To be very angry	To blow a fuse
To be very intelligent	To have a sharp mind
To be very lucky	To strike gold
To look for something	To hunt high and low
To be very busy	To be up to one’s ears
To be very confident	To be full of oneself
To have a lot of options	To have many strings to one’s bow
To feel very sad	To have a heavy heart
To be very organized	To have one’s act together
To do something perfectly	To hit the nail on the head
To give something a try	To take a shot
To be very cautious	To play it safe

Why Learn Idioms?

Learning idioms will help you better understand native speakers and make your conversations more lively. Idioms are used in everyday language, movies, and books, so understanding them is essential for fluency.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What are idioms?

Idioms are phrases that have a meaning different from their literal words. They are commonly used by native speakers.

Why is it important to learn idioms?

Idioms help you sound more fluent and make your conversations more natural. They also help you understand native English speakers more easily.

How can I practice using idioms?

You can practice idioms by incorporating them into your daily conversations. Watching movies or reading books in English will also help you see how they are used.