Idiomatic Expressions 1

Question	Answer
about to	almost ready to
above all	most importantly
add up	make sense; be logical
all at once	suddenly; without warning
all of a sudden	all at once; suddenly
as a matter of fact	in reality; actually
as a rule	generally; customarily
at ease	not nervous; calm
as the drop of a hat	quickly; without any preparation time
back out (of)	withdraw an offer
bank on	depend on; count on
be my guest	do what you want; feel free; help yourself
be rusty	need practice or review
beats me	I don't know; I have no idea (often used in response to a question)
better off	in an improved condition.
bite off more than one can chew	take on more responsibility than one can handle
bound to	certain to; sure to
Break down	stop functioning (a machine, for example)
break in (on)	interrupt
break the ice	break through social barriers (as at a party)
break the news (to)	inform; give bad news
break up	end (a meeting, for example)
break up (with)	stop being a couple (a boyfriend and girlfriend, for example)
a breeze	something very simple and easy to do
bring about	cause to hapen
bring up	(1) raise (a child) (2) introduce (a topicm for example)
brush up on	review; study; practice
bump into	meet unexpectedly; run into
by and large	mostly; generally; on the whole
by heart	by memory; learned word for word
by no means	in no way; not at all
call it a day	stop working for the day; go home
call off	cancel
call on	visit
calm down	relax
care for	(1) take care of (2) like; feel affection for
catch on	become popular
catch on (to)	understand; learn
catch up (with)	go as fast as; catch
check in (or into)	register (at a hotel)
check out (of)	(1) leave (a hotel) (2) take material (from a library, for example)
cheer up	become cheerful; be happy
chip in (on/for)	contribute
clear up	(1) clarify; make understandable (2) become nice and sunny (used to talk about the weather)
come across	find; meet; encounter
come around (to)	begin to change one's opinion; begin to agree with
come down with	become sick with (illness)
come up with	think of (an idea)
cost an arm and a leg	be very expensive
count on	depend on; rely on; bank on
count out	eliminate; no longer consider as a factor
cut off	stop; descontinue (a service, for example)
cut out for	have an aptitude for; be qualified for
day in and day out	constantly; for a long time
die down	become less severe; quiet down
do over	do again; repeat
do without	not have
down the drain	wasted; done for no reason (work, for example)
dream up	invent; think of; come up with
drop (someone) a line	send someone a letter
drop in (on)	visit informally
drop off	(1) leave something (a package, for example) (2) take (someone) home; let someone out of a car
drop out (of)	stop attending (classes, for example)
easy as pie	very simple; a piece of cake
eyes bigger than one's stomach	said of someone who takes more food than he or she can eat
fall behind	not move as quickly as; lag behind
fall through	fail to happen
a far cry from	not similar to; not as good as
fed up (with)	not able to tolerate; disgusted with; annoyed by feel
fell free	do something if one wants
feel like	be inclined to; want to
feel like a million dollars	feel very good
feel up to	feel able to do something; ready to
few and far between	uncommon and infrequent
figure out	understand; solve
fill in	write in a hlank (on an application form, for example)
fill in (for)	substitute for
fill on in	provide missing information
fill out	complete (an application form, for example)
find out	learn; discover
a fish out of water	someone not in his or her normal surroundings
fix up	repair; renovate
follow in one's footsteps	do what someone else did (especially a parent)
for good	permanently; forever
for the time being	temporarily; for now
from out of the blue	unexpectedly; without warning
get a kick out of (doing something)	enjoy; have fun doing something
get along with	have good relations with
get carried away	go too far; do too much; buy too much
get in one's blood	become a habit; become customary
get in over one's head	take on too much responsibility; bite off more than one can chew
get in the way	block; obstruct
get in touch with	contact
get off	leave (a vehicle)
get off the ground	start to be successful
get on	board (vehicle)
get over	recover from (a disease)
get rid of	discard; no longer have
get under way	begin; start
give (someone) a cold shoulder	act unfriendly toward someone; ignore
give away	distribute (for free)
get the hang of something	learn how to do something
give a hand	applaud; clap
give a hand (with)	assist
go easy on	not punish severely
go on (with)	continue
go overboard	do too much; buy too much
go with	(1) accompany (2) look good together; complement (for example, two articles of clothing)
go without saying	be clear; be obvious
grow up	to mature; to become an adult
hand in	give back to; return
hand out	distribute
hang on	wait
hard to come by	difficult to find
have a heart	be compassionate; show mercy
have a hunch	have an intuitive feeling
have a word with (someone)	talk to someone briefly
have on	wear
have one's hands full	be very busy; have a challenging job
have the time of one's life	have fun; have a great time
hear fIrsthand (from)	get information directly from someone
hear from	be contacted by; be in touch with
hear of	know about; be familiar with
hit it off	become friendly (especially at a first meeting)
hit the road	leave; go away
hold on	wait
hold on (to)	grasp
hold still	not move
hold up	delay
in a nutshell	in summary; in brief
in favor of	in agreement with; supporting
in hot water	in trouble
in no time	very soon; very quickly
in person	face to face (not by telephone, letter, etc.)
in store	in the future; coming up
in the dark	not knowing; confused
in the long run	over a long period of time
in the same boat	in the same situation; having the same problem
iron out	solve (a problem)
join the club	have the same problem as other people
jump to conclusions	form opinions without sufficient evidence
keep an eye on	watch; take care of; look after
keep an eye out (for)	look for
keep on (with)	continue
keep track of	know where something or someone is
keep up (with)	maintain the same speed as
kill time	spend time doing unimportant things (before an appointment, for example)
know like the back of one's hand	be very familiar with
lay off	put out of work
learn the ropes	become familiar with; get used to; get the hang of
leave out	not include; omit
leave someone/something alone	not disturb
let someone down	disappoint
let up	decline in intensity (rain for example)
look after	take care of; mind
look for	try to locate
look forward to	antecipate (with pleasure)
look into	investigate
look like	resemble
look out (for)	be careful
look over	examine; read
look up	(1) find information (especially in a reference book) (2) try to locate someone
look up to	respect; admire
make a fool of oneself	act embarrassingly
make a point of	make a special effort
make ends meet	balance a budget
make sense (of)	be logical and clear; understand
make up	invent; create
make up one's mind	decide
make way for	allow space for; provide a path for
mean to	intend to
mixed up	confused
music to one's ears	something that sounds pleasant
a nervous wreck	someone who is very nervous
next to nothing	very little (money, for example); cheap
no doubt about it	certainly; definitely
no harm done	there was no damage done
not at all	not in any way; not to any degree
not believe one's ears (or eyes)	be unable to believe what one hears (or sees)
not think much of	not like; not have a good opinion of
odds and ends	small; miscellaneous items
an old hand (at)	an experienced person
on edge	nervous
on end	consecutively; without a break (days on end, for example)
on hand	easily available
on needles and pins	nervous; ansious
on one's own	independent
on second thought	after reconsidering
on the go	always busy; always moving
on the tip of one's tongue	almost able to remember
on the whole	in general
out of (something)	not having something
out of one's mind	insane; illogical; irrational
out of order	broken; not functioning properly
out of the question	definitely not; impossible
over and over	again and again; repeatedly
over one's head	not understandable (a joke, for example); obscure
part with	no longer have; et rid of; not be in the company of
pass up	not accept; not choose
pass with flying colors	do very well (on a test)

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	Created by Igor_rondonia over 9 years ago