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English Idioms, American & British Idiomatic Expressions

An idiom is a phrase understood by many people in a specific culture or subculture, and that phrase has a different meaning from the meaning it appears to have.

A very good example of this is "to bend over backwards." This phrase is understood in English speaking culture to mean "to work very hard to do / get something." The meaning it appears to have (the literal meaning), however, is the physical act of bending over in the opposite direction. Very few people can actually do this physical act.

Idioms are used in both spoken and written English, and often appear in newspaper articles.

Idioms with the same meanings and use in your own language may use a different word than the English idiom. Do not try to change any word / vocabulary in an English idiom! Also be careful when you use idioms in your writing exercises. They can be very effective if used carefully and sparingly, but the writing becomes very unnatural if too many idioms are used in one paragraph or essay.

Definitions and Examples (We have made lists of some very popular idioms for you. See below.)

Choose a group of idioms below, to see definitions and examples for idioms in this collection. (For example, choose "Animal" for all animal idioms)

Animal--Business--Colour--Food--Money

We recommend the following English Idioms Books for further study or the ESL schools below.

English language schools & courses:	Location
Arizona Language Center	Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Heritage English	Lymington, England, UK / GB
ELS Universal English College, Sydney	Sydney, NSW, Australia
Language Works English Courses	Singapore, Singapore
International TEFL Training Institute, Paris	Paris, France
International Language Institute, Gaithersburg MD	Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA
Online English Level Test	Delhi (New Delhi), India
Institute Of Intensive English, Hawaii	Waikiki, Hawaii, USA
New York English Academy, Manhattan	New York City, New York, USA
Institute of Intensive English, Hawaii	Waikiki, Hawaii, USA
NSL Mondial, Vancouver	Vancouver, BC, Canada
New York Language Center, Queens	Queens, New York, USA
Oxford Elite in London and Oxford	Oxford, England, UK / GB
Language Loop English Classes, Chicago	Chicago, Illinois, USA
Future Focus School Of English	Floriana, Malta
Kaplan International Colleges London - Covent Garden	London, England, UK / GB
A F International School of Languages, Thousand Oaks	Ventura County, California, USA
Kaplan International Colleges UK	London, England, UK / GB
Harvest English Institute, Los Angeles	Los Angeles, California, USA
ABC Languages, Manhattan - Private English lessons in NY & Online	New York City, New York, USA