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	Location
Test Your English Level Online	London, England, UK & England
New York English Academy, Manhattan	New York City, New York, USA
Kaplan International Huntington Beach	Huntington Beach, California, USA
Omnicom School of Languages	Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Crossing Borders, Houston North Area	The Woodlands, Texas, USA
Kaplan International New York - SoHo, Lower Manhattan	New York City, New York, USA
ABC Languages, New York	New York City, New York, USA
Language Works English Courses	Singapore, Singapore
Kaplan International Toronto	Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Irish College Of English, Dublin	Dublin, Ireland
International TEFL Training Institute, Paris	Paris, France
New York Language Center, Queens	Queens, New York, USA
NSL Mondial, Vancouver	Vancouver, BC, Canada
English Level Test	Singapore, Singapore
Stamford International University, Bangkok	Bangkok, Thailand
Kaplan International New York - Empire State	New York City, New York, USA
The International Language Centre	Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago
American Language Programs, Inc.	Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA
Omnicom School of Languages, Toronto	Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Language Loop English Classes, Chicago	Chicago, Illinois, USA