Top 100 Idioms
These are the 100 most commonly used English idioms and their meanings. While learning idioms might seem difficult and time-consuming, it’ll help you to speak in more interesting ways and sound more natural among native English speakers.
a quick buck
- phrase:a quick buck
1)easily and quickly earned money.
"they were seen as more eager to make a quick buck"
all the way up
- phrase:all the way
- phrase:all the way up
1)without limit or reservation.
"I'm with you all the way"
as bold as brass
- phrase:as bold as brass
1)confident to the point of impudence.
"she marched into the library as bold as brass"
as thick as thieves
- phrase:as thick as thieves
1)(of two or more people) very close or friendly; sharing secrets.
"he and Auntie Lou were as thick as thieves"
bat an eye
- phrase:not bat an eye
- phrase:bat an eye
1)show no surprise or concern.
"when he told me what he'd done, I didn't bat an eye"
beau monde
- noun:beau monde
- plural noun:beaux mondes
1)fashionable society.
"London was the center of this jet-hopping beau monde"
been around
- phrase:have been around
- phrase:been around
1)have a lot of varied experience and understanding of the world.
"look, I've been around, I know what happens with kids like you"
behind bars
- phrase:behind bars
1)in prison.
"he had already spent four months behind bars on remand"
bent out of shape
- phrase:bent out of shape
1)angry or agitated.
"he'd changed a few things around, and Glen was a little bent out of shape about it"
- phrase:out of shape
- phrase:bent out of shape
1)no longer having the correct or original form or contours.
"the front wheel of the bicycle was all out of shape"
2)(of a person) in poor physical condition; unfit.
"he was overweight and out of shape"
between the devil and the deep blue sea
- phrase:between the devil and the deep blue sea
1)in a difficult situation where there are two equally unpleasant choices.
between you and me
- phrase:between you and me
1)in confidence.
"just between you and me, he's a bit boring"
beyond the pale
- phrase:beyond the pale
1)outside the bounds of acceptable behaviour.
"the language my father used was beyond the pale"
bigger fish to fry
- phrase:have bigger fish to fry
- phrase:bigger fish to fry
1)have other or more important matters to attend to.
"the police and courts have bigger fish to fry"
birds of a feather
- phrase:birds of a feather flock together
- phrase:birds of a feather
1)people of the same sort or with the same tastes and interests will be found together.
"these health professionals sure were birds of a feather"
bird’s eye view
- unpunctuated:birds-eye view
- noun:bird's-eye view
- plural noun:bird's-eye views
1)a general view from above.
"at this vantage point it's possible to have a bird's-eye view"
blank check
- noun:blank cheque
- plural noun:blank cheques
- noun:blank check
- plural noun:blank checks
1)a bank check with the amount left for the payee to fill in.
blast from the past
- phrase:a blast from the past
- phrase:blast from the past
1)something powerfully nostalgic.
"the soundtrack is a real blast from the past"
blind date
- noun:blind date
- plural noun:blind dates
1)a social engagement or date with a person one has not previously met.
"a blind date arranged by well-meaning friends"
blue eyed boy
- noun:blue-eyed boy
- plural noun:blue-eyed boys
1)a person highly regarded by someone and treated with special favour.
"the problem that managers may favour their blue-eyed boys"