40+ Idioms & Idiomatic Expressions: The Ultimate Guide to Learning Them

Idioms are used in all areas of the English language but can be considered important when it comes to learning English through speaking. Every language has idioms, and learning them can be challenging if you’re not a native speaker of that particular language.

If English isn’t your native language, then the best thing once can do is have conversations with others or native speakers and ask them about phrases that you don’t understand. Since idioms are influenced by the culture, learning the idioms of a language can be very interesting and enlightening!

What Are Idiom & Idiomatic Expressions?

An idiom is a short phrase with its own specific meaning, and learning idioms can help you understand and become more like a native speaker. An idiom is a particular word or expression whose meaning cannot be readily understood by either its grammar or the words used.

Whereas, idiomatic expressions are an informal language that has a meaning different from the meaning of the words in the expression. Idiomatic expressions cannot be translated word for word without causing confusion.

List of Common English Idioms & Their Meanings

Below is a list of common idioms and their meanings.

Idiom	Meaning	Sentence
To Break Down	To go out of order	Our car broke the way.
To Break Into	To enter forcibly	The robbers broke into his house looted cash.
To Break Out	To begin suddenly	A war broke out between England & Spain.
To Break Up	To come to an end	The meeting broke up at 4 PM.
To Call At	To visit a place	I called your house but you were not there.
To Call In	To send for	We should immediately call in the doctor.
To Call On	To visit a person	If I get time, I may call on you in the evening.
To Call Out	To speak loudly	The teacher called out the names of the prize-winners.
To Come Across	To meet by chance	While walking in the park, I came across an old friend.
To Come By	To obtain	How did you come by such a beautiful pen?
To Come Off	To succeed	We had a very good offer for our house but the deal did not come off.
To Come Out	To develop	These pictures of the waterfall have come out extremely well.
To Get At	To suggest	I do not understand what you are trying to get at.
To Get Away	To escape	The thief got away under the cover of darkness.
To Get On	To fare	How are you getting on in your new flat?
To Get Through	To pass	Sumi got through the examination with good marks.
To Give Away	To distribute	The Chief Guest gave away the prizes to the prize-winners.
To Give In	To surrender	The enemy had to give in at last.
To Give Up	To leave	I give up the idea of learning french.
To Keep Away	To avoid	Mehak was down with malaria; so she kept away from the school for a week.
To Keep Back	To hide	I shall not keep back anything from you.
To Keep Off	To remain at a distance	Kindly keep off the grass.
To Keep On	To continue	He was tired but he kept on doing his work.
To Look After	To take care of	The nurse will look after the children.
To Look Down Upon	To regard with contempt	We must not look down upon others even if we do not agree with them.
To Look For	To search	I am looking for a decent swimming costume.
To Look Forward To	Wait eagerly for	The students are looking forward to the summer vacation.
To Look Into	To examine	The Principal is looking into the whole matter.
To Look Up	To search for and find	Please look up this word in the dictionary.
To Make Out	To discover, to find out	I could not make out the meaning of what she said.
To Make Up	To supply what is lacking	You must work hard so that you can make up for your weakness in English.
To Put Off	To postpone	Her marriage has been put off until next year.
To Put On	Dress oneself	She put on a new dress and went to the fair.
To Put Out	To annoy, to upset	We felt put out when our trip to the hills was canceled.
To Put Up With	To bear	Who can put up with such an insult?
To Set In	To begin	Rains have set in.
To Set Out	To begin the journey	Very soon Sindbad set out on a new journey.
To Set Up	Start, Begin	My father is setting up a factory.
To Take After	To resemble	In looks, Pooja takes after her mother.
To Take Down	To write down	The speaker spoke so fast that I could not take down anything.
To Take In	To deceive	I could not be taken in by her sweet words.
To Take Off	To remove	Please take off your shoes before you enter the temple.

7 Ways to Make English Idioms and Phrases Easier to Understand

Listen to context
Check to see if you understood
Be honest when you don’t understand
Never translate idioms
Listen to how native speakers use idioms
Take notes
Tolerate your mistakes

1. Listen To Context

Idioms are unusual expressions. So ask yourself, ‘Why is that person using an unusual expression?’ The answers are likely to be connected with exaggeration, emphasis, or a high state of emotion. So check the context – and the facial expression!

2. Check To See If You Understood

Use expressions like; ‘so you’re pretty sad about that, right?’ or ‘OK, you mean that you’re too sleepy at the moment.’

3. Be Honest When You Don’t Understand

Try using, ‘I’m sorry, but I don’t know what you mean.’

4. Never Translate Idioms

Idioms from your own language may use the same imagery or concepts (and it is always fascinating to notice these similarities). Still, they are unlikely to translate word-for-word into English expressions.

5. Listen To How Native Speakers Use Idioms

A native English speaker NEVER says it’s raining cats and dogs? Instead, Listen to what native speakers actually say in a given situation and copy.

6. Take Notes

Keep a notebook of your favorite expressions and add anything new that you hear. Try to use new phrases soon after you learn them, and this is called ‘use it or lose it.’

7. Tolerate Your Mistakes

You will definitely make mistakes and create confusion when you use idiomatic expressions, so be brave and allow yourself the space to try, fail, and try again.

Whether you are a student, teacher, or just someone curious about the English language, we hope you found that helpful! If you keep these concepts in mind, English idiomatic expressions should be easy for you. If you’ve got any queries, feel free to add them in the comments below.