English Idioms

What is an idiom? An idiom is an expression or phrase whose meaning does not relate to the literal meaning of its words. In other words “Idioms mean something different than the individual words.”

Idioms are expressions that cannot be understood literally, and when learning English they can be some of the most difficult expressions to understand! For example, "like two peas in a pod" has nothing to do with peas, but means that two people look similar.

Idioms are used constantly in the English language, both at work as well as at home, and are key for language progression.

Learning to use common idioms and expressions will make your English sound more native, so it's a good idea to master some of these expressions. You can start by learning the very common English idioms, since these are the ones you'll encounter regularly watching American movies or TV, or visiting the United States. When you've mastered those, move on to rest. None of the idioms on this app are unusual or old fashioned, so you can be confident using any of them with native English speakers from all English-speaking countries.

To make things easier, we've put together a list of some of the most common English idioms and their meanings. Review and practise the phrases below, using these example sentences from English for Everyone: English Idioms.