Idioms for IELTS Speaking: 150+ Idioms With Meanings and Examples

Idioms play an important role in the IELTS speaking test, as they show examiners your proficiency in English. Using a wider range of vocabulary shows a good grasp of everyday English. It also helps in scoring a high band in speaking. So here is a list of 150+ Idioms for IELTS speaking. Understand how to use them and bookmark the blog for future use.

Key Takeaways

Idioms count toward Lexical Resource, one of the four criteria examiners use to score IELTS Speaking.
Band 7 and above expects some idiomatic vocabulary, and Band 9 expects idioms used naturally and accurately.
Use one or two idioms per answer, and only when they fit the question you are answering.
Learn each idiom with its exact meaning, fixed form and an example from your own life.
Avoid slang in Part 3, and use simpler words if you are not sure an idiom fits.

How Can Idioms Used in IELTS Speaking Enhance Your Band Score?

One of the four speaking scoring criteria is Lexical Resource. In this, examiners examine how wide your vocabulary is and how you use it.

For band 7, examiners expect idiomatic and less common vocabulary along with awareness of collocation.
For band 8, you need to use less common and idiomatic vocabulary skillfully, with only occasional errors.
For band 9, your idiomatic language must sound completely accurate and natural.
Sometimes, students learn the responses in advance, and it feels like a memorized script, which leads to a loss of bands. Using a few idioms and phrases naturally makes your answers sound spontaneous instead.
Using easy Idioms for IELTS speaking in part one will make your conversation more relaxed and fluent.
In the second part of IELTS speaking, using idioms at the end of the answer will give a memorable finish.
In the third part of IELTS speaking, to add weight to your opinion about agreeing or disagreeing, using Idioms will help you grab brownie points.

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150+ IELTS Speaking Idioms For Different Purposes

1. Work and Career

Idiom	Meaning	Example Sentence
Learn the ropes	Learn how a job or task works	It took me a month to learn the ropes at my new office.
Hit the ground running	Start a new job quickly and effectively	She hit the ground running on her first day as a manager.
Get my head down	Concentrate on work without distraction	I need to get my head down and finish this report tonight.
Be swamped	Have far too much work to do	I’ve been swamped with emails since Monday.
Take on board	Accept and consider feedback	My manager took on board all of my suggestions.
Run the show	Be in charge of an activity or organization	Our team leader runs the show when the director is away.
Burn out	Become exhausted from too much work	Many junior doctors risk burning out from long shifts.
Pull your weight	Do your fair share of the work	Everyone in the team has to pull their weight.
Call it a day	Stop working on something for now	Let’s call it a day and continue the project tomorrow.
Work your fingers to the bone	Work extremely hard	My parents worked their fingers to the bone to give us a good education.

2. Education and Study

Idiom	Meaning	Example Sentence
Get to grips with	Understand something difficult	I finally got to grips with statistics after months of practice.
Mark my words	Used to say something will definitely happen	Mark my words, this skill will be useful one day.
Learn something by heart	Memorize something completely	I learned the poem by heart for the school competition.
Hit the books	Begin studying seriously	I’ll have to hit the books this weekend.
Burn the midnight oil	Work or study late into the night	She burned the midnight oil to finish her thesis.
Pass with flying colors	Pass with excellent results	He passed his driving test with flying colors.
Know something inside out	Know something thoroughly	I know the syllabus inside out.
Have a head for figures	Be good at math or working with numbers	My brother has a head for figures, so he chose accounting.
Brush up on	Review and improve a skill or knowledge	I need to brush up on my grammar before the test.
Teacher’s pet	A student who is favored by the teacher	Some students complain that the teacher’s pet always gets the best seats.

3. Family and Relationships

Idiom	Meaning	Example Sentence
Get on like a house on fire	Have a very good relationship quickly	My sister and her husband get on like a house on fire.
Be a chip off the old block	Be similar to one’s parent	My son is a chip off the old block; he loves music like his father.
Stick together	Support each other	Our family always sticks together during difficult times.
Be like two peas in a pod	Be very similar	My twin brother and I are like two peas in a pod.
Run in the family	Be a trait shared by members of a family	Creativity runs in our family.
Apple of someone’s eye	The person someone loves most	Their youngest daughter is the apple of their eye.
The spitting image	Someone who looks exactly like another person	My cousin is the spitting image of her mother.
Black sheep of the family	The member who differs from or disappoints the rest of the family	He became the black sheep of the family after moving abroad.
Bury the hatchet	End an argument and make peace	After years of arguing, the brothers finally buried the hatchet.
Blood is thicker than water	Family bonds are stronger than other relationships	Blood is thicker than water, so we always help each other.

4. Friends and Socializing

Idiom	Meaning	Example Sentence
Hit it off	Get along well from the first meeting	We hit it off at a mutual friend’s party.
Party animal	A person who loves going to parties	He was a real party animal at university.
Birds of a feather flock together	People with similar interests spend time together	My friends all like sports, so birds of a feather flock together.
Thick as thieves	Very close friends who share secrets	The two girls have been thick as thieves since primary school.
Go way back	Have known each other for a long time	Tom and I go way back; we met at school.
A shoulder to cry on	Someone who offers comfort and sympathy	My best friend has always been a shoulder to cry on.
Have each other’s back	Support and protect each other	In our group, we always have each other’s back.
Let your hair down	Relax and behave freely	It’s nice to let your hair down with friends after a busy week.
Hit the town	Go out to enjoy yourself, especially at night	On Friday nights we like to hit the town.
Pal around with	Spend time with someone as friends	I used to pal around with my neighbors’ kids.

5. Hobbies and Free Time

Idiom	Meaning	Example Sentence
Have a blast	Enjoy yourself very much	We had a blast at the music festival.
Go off the beaten track	Explore places others don’t visit	On holiday, I like to go off the beaten track.
Put your feet up	Relax and rest	After work, I like to put my feet up with a cup of tea.
Be a jack of all trades	Be able to do many different things	I’m a bit of a jack of all trades with my hobbies.
Do something on a whim	Do something spontaneously	We went to the beach on a whim last Sunday.
Couch potato	A person who spends a lot of time inactive, often watching TV	I’m not a couch potato; I play football every weekend.
Hobby horse	A subject one talks about constantly	Environmental issues are my hobby horse.
Be in your element	Be in a situation you enjoy and are good at	When I’m painting, I’m really in my element.
Get your kicks from	Get pleasure or excitement from	He gets his kicks from building model planes.
Paint the town red	Go out and celebrate noisily	We painted the town red after the exam results.

6. Technology and Social Media

Idiom	Meaning	Example Sentence
Stay in the loop	Remain informed about news or events	Social media helps me stay in the loop.
Cut the cord	End a dependence on a service or device	I cut the cord with cable TV and only stream now.
Work like a charm	Work perfectly	The new app works like a charm.
Be on the cutting edge	Be at the most advanced stage of development	This company is always on the cutting edge.
Glued to the screen	Watching or using a screen constantly	Teenagers are often glued to the screen all evening.
Go viral	Spread rapidly online	Her funny video went viral within a day.
Ahead of the curve	More advanced than others	That firm is ahead of the curve in artificial intelligence.
Out of the loop	Not informed about something	I was out of the loop about the changes at the office.
Pull the plug	Stop supporting or funding something	The company pulled the plug on the unpopular app.
Hit a snag	Encounter an unexpected problem	The project hit a snag when the software crashed.

7. Travel and Holidays

Idiom	Meaning	Example Sentence
Miss the boat	Miss a chance, or arrive too late	The tickets sold out in an hour, so I missed the boat on that concert.
Be on the road	Be traveling	I’ve been on the road for most of the summer.
Lie low	Stay quiet or out of sight	We lay low in the hotel during the storm.
Off the map	Very remote or unknown	That island seems completely off the map.
Hit the jackpot	Find something extremely good or valuable	We hit the jackpot with that cheap hostel.
Go with the flow	Accept plans as they change while traveling	When traveling, I like to go with the flow.
Hit the road	Start a journey	We’ll hit the road early tomorrow morning.
Get away from it all	Escape from daily routine for a rest	I like to get away from it all at a quiet beach.
Get the show on the road	Start an activity or journey	Once everyone arrived, we got the show on the road.
Know the area like the back of your hand	Know a place very well	After ten years, I know this city like the back of my hand.

8. Food and Cooking

Idiom	Meaning	Example Sentence
Be full of beans	Be lively and energetic	The children were full of beans after lunch.
Bite the hand that feeds you	Harm someone who supports you	Criticizing the company would be biting the hand that feeds me.
Spill the beans	Reveal a secret	Who spilled the beans about the surprise party?
Meat and potatoes	The basic, most important part	Rice and vegetables are the meat and potatoes of my diet.
Butter someone up	Flatter someone to get what you want	He buttered up the teacher before asking for an extension.
Easy as pie	Very easy to make or do	Baking bread is easy as pie once you practice.
Have a lot on your plate	Have many responsibilities	I have a lot on my plate this month.
Have a sweet tooth	Really enjoy sweet food	I have a real sweet tooth, especially for chocolate.
Take with a grain of salt	Doubt something slightly	I take those diet claims with a grain of salt.
Eat like a horse	Eat a very large amount	My brother eats like a horse after football training.

9. Health and Fitness

Idiom	Meaning	Example Sentence
Keep your head above water	Manage to cope with difficulties	I’m just keeping my head above water with work.
Feel like a new person	Feel much better after something	After a week of rest, I felt like a new person.
Get a second wind	Find new energy during an activity	Halfway through the run, I got a second wind.
Go the distance	Keep going until the end	She trained hard to go the distance in the marathon.
Bounce back	Recover quickly from illness or setback	Children usually bounce back quickly from colds.
Under the weather	Slightly ill or unwell	I’ve been under the weather since Monday, so I stayed home.
Fit as a fiddle	Very healthy and fit	My grandfather is still fit as a fiddle at seventy.
Burn the candle at both ends	Overwork and not rest enough	If you burn the candle at both ends, you’ll soon get ill.
Get back on your feet	Recover after illness or difficulty	It took him months to get back on his feet after the operation.
Get some shut-eye	Get some sleep	I need to get some shut-eye before the exam.

10. Weather and Environment

Idiom	Meaning	Example Sentence
Come rain or shine	Whatever the weather or situation	I go for a walk every morning, come rain or shine.
Take a turn for the worse	Become worse	The weather took a turn for the worse in the afternoon.
Clear the air	Resolve tension or confusion	After our argument, my roommate and I had a long talk to clear the air.
Green fingers	Being skilled at growing plants	My grandmother has green fingers.
Break the mold	Do something in a new and different way	This city is trying to break the mold with its parks.
Be a breath of fresh air	Be refreshing and different	The new park is a breath of fresh air in the city.
Go down the drain	Be wasted or lost	Our plans for the picnic went down the drain.
It’s raining cats and dogs	Raining very heavily	We got caught without an umbrella because it was raining cats and dogs.
Every cloud has a silver lining	There is something positive even in a bad situation	Losing the match was hard, but every cloud has a silver lining.
Weather the storm	Survive a difficult period	The company managed to weather the storm during the recession.

11. Money and Shopping

Idiom	Meaning	Example Sentence
Live within your means	Spend no more than you earn	My parents taught me to live within my means.
Get your money’s worth	Get good value for what you pay	The concert was expensive, but I got my money’s worth.
In the red	Owing money or spending more than you have	The business was in the red for two years.
Cash in hand	Paid in cash, often without tax	Some tutors are paid cash in hand.
Foot the bill	Pay for something	My uncle offered to foot the bill for dinner.
Cost a fortune	Be very expensive	Good headphones can cost a fortune.
Pinch pennies	Spend very carefully to save money	My grandmother always pinches pennies.
Break the bank	Cost too much money	A family holiday doesn’t have to break the bank.
Money doesn’t grow on trees	Money must be earned and spent carefully	Money doesn’t grow on trees, so we must budget carefully.
Make ends meet	Have just enough money to pay for necessities	It’s hard to make ends meet on a single income.

12. Home and Neighborhood

Idiom	Meaning	Example Sentence
Keep yourself to yourself	Avoid getting involved with others	My neighbor keeps herself to herself.
Ins and outs	The details of something	I know the ins and outs of my neighborhood.
Close to home	Near where you live, or affecting you personally	I prefer to shop at markets close to home.
Hustle and bustle	Busy and noisy activity	I love the hustle and bustle of the city center.
Put down roots	Settle permanently in a place	After ten years, we’ve finally put down roots here.
Fit like a glove	Be exactly right	The new flat fits like a glove for our family.
Home sweet home	Expression of happiness at being home	After a long holiday, it always feels good to be home sweet home.
Keep up with the Joneses	Try to match others’ possessions or status	Many people spend too much money trying to keep up with the Joneses.
Make yourself at home	Behave comfortably, as if in your own home	Please make yourself at home while I finish cooking.
Home is where the heart is	Home is the place where you feel loved and belong	Wherever my family is, home is where the heart is.

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13. Describing Personality

Idiom	Meaning	Example Sentence
Glass half full	Optimistic outlook	I’m a glass-half-full kind of person.
Wear your heart on your sleeve	Show your emotions openly	She wears her heart on her sleeve.
Born with a silver spoon	Born into wealth	He was born with a silver spoon in his mouth.
Know your own mind	Be certain about what you want	She always knows her own mind.
Have a bee in your bonnet	Be preoccupied with one idea	My father has a bee in his bonnet about recycling.
Stick to your guns	Maintain your position despite pressure	I stuck to my guns during the debate.
The salt of the earth	Honest, kind, and reliable people	My grandparents are the salt of the earth.
A dark horse	A person with hidden talents or qualities	My quiet classmate turned out to be a dark horse.
Cut from the same cloth	Share similar qualities or character	My uncle and my father are cut from the same cloth.
Fly off the handle	Lose one’s temper suddenly	He tends to fly off the handle when he’s stressed.

14. Opinions and Discussion

Idiom	Meaning	Example Sentence
In the grand scheme of things	Considering the bigger picture	In the grand scheme of things, exams are not everything.
Jump to conclusions	Decide something before having all the facts	It’s wrong to jump to conclusions about people.
A far cry from	Very different from	Modern cities are a far cry from those of a century ago.
Go hand in hand	Be closely connected	Good health and good sleep go hand in hand.
At face value	Judged by what is apparent	We shouldn’t accept advertisements at face value.
The bottom line	The most important point	The bottom line is that people need affordable housing.
Food for thought	Something worth thinking about	Her argument gave me food for thought.
Read between the lines	Understand a hidden meaning	You have to read between the lines in political speeches.
Beat around the bush	Avoid saying something directly	Stop beating around the bush and tell me what you think.
Hit the nail on the head	Describe exactly what is correct	You’ve hit the nail on the head with that point.

15. Agreeing and Disagreeing

Idiom	Meaning	Example Sentence
Let’s agree to differ	Accept that we have different views	Let’s agree to differ on this one.
Hold water	Be logically sound	That argument doesn’t hold water.
See eye to eye	Agree with someone	My parents don’t always see eye to eye on money.
Be on the same page	Have the same understanding	Before we start the project, let’s make sure we’re on the same page.
Ring true	Seem true or convincing	Her explanation rings true to me.
Play devil’s advocate	Argue an opposing view for the sake of discussion	I’ll play devil’s advocate and ask what happens if the plan fails.
Give someone the benefit of the doubt	Assume someone is honest or right	I’d give him the benefit of the doubt before judging him.
Toe the line	Follow the rules or conform	Employees are expected to toe the line.
Be of one mind	Agree completely	The committee was of one mind on the decision.
Up in arms	Very angry or protesting	Residents are up in arms about the new road.

16. Thinking and Buying Time

Idiom	Meaning	Example Sentence
If push comes to shove	If it becomes necessary	If push comes to shove, I’d choose the cheaper option.
To cut a long story short	Summarizing quickly	To cut a long story short, we moved in 2019.
On the tip of my tongue	Almost remembered but not quite	The name is on the tip of my tongue.
Sleep on it	Delay a decision until the next day	I’ll sleep on it and let you know tomorrow.
Cross that bridge when you come to it	Deal with a problem only when it happens	We don’t know if the venue will be full yet, so let’s cross that bridge when we come to it.
Think on your feet	Respond quickly and well without preparation	Good interpreters can think on their feet.
Off the top of my head	Without thinking carefully first	Off the top of my head, I’d say around five hundred people.
Chew it over	Think about something carefully	Let me chew it over before I decide.
Ballpark figure	An approximate estimate	Can you give me a ballpark figure for the cost?
Up in the air	Uncertain or not yet decided	The final date is still up in the air.

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How to Practice These Idioms

Pick three or four topics that match the questions you find hardest.
Learn only three to five expressions from each table at a time.
Write one sentence about your own life for every idiom, such as your family, job, or hometown.
Record yourself answering a practice question, then listen back for places where an idiom would fit.
Practice with a study partner who can tell you whether an expression sounds natural or forced.
Limit yourself to one or two idioms per answer during the test.
Make sure you can explain what each idiom means before you use it.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Never forcefully use an idiom to show off your English speaking skills; if it doesn’t fit in, leave it.
Do not use more than one or two idioms per answer.
Don’t learn an idiom without checking its exact meaning and typical context.
Steer clear of overly slangy expressions in a formal Part 3 discussion.
Watch your grammar. Many idioms have fixed forms, so “a piece of cake” should never become “a piece of the cake.”
Practice your pronunciation. An unfamiliar idiom said with hesitation draws attention to itself, and not in a good way.

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FAQs

Can I use idioms in IELTS Speaking?

Yes, you can use idioms in IELTS Speaking. They can make your answers sound more natural and expressive. However, make sure you understand their meanings and use them in the right context rather than forcing them into your answers.

Do idioms help me get a higher band score in IELTS Speaking?

Idioms can help you demonstrate a good range of vocabulary, which is part of the IELTS Speaking assessment. However, using idioms alone will not guarantee a higher band score. You also need to use them naturally, accurately, and appropriately.

How many idioms should I use in my IELTS Speaking test?

Focus on using one or two suitable idioms naturally when the opportunity arises. It is better to give clear and meaningful answers than to use too many idioms unnecessarily.

What are some easy idioms I can use in IELTS Speaking?

Some easy idioms you can use are once in a blue moon (very rarely), a piece of cake (very easy), break the ice (start a conversation), under the weather (feeling unwell), and cost an arm and a leg (very expensive). Practice using them in sentences before your test.

What happens if I use an idiom incorrectly in IELTS Speaking?

Using an idiom incorrectly can affect your vocabulary score, especially if it makes your meaning unclear or sounds unnatural. If you are unsure about an idiom, it is better to use simpler words that communicate your idea correctly.

Are idioms and phrases the same thing in IELTS Speaking?

No, idioms and phrases are not exactly the same. An idiom is an expression whose meaning is different from the literal meaning of its words, such as a piece of cake. A phrase is a group of words that work together to express an idea. Both can improve your speaking when used naturally and correctly.

Also Read

IELTS Speaking Tips for Band 7

IELTS Vocabulary

IELTS Score Chart

Do Free IELTS Speaking Practice

IELTS Speaking Part 1

IELTS Speaking Part 2

IELTS Speaking Part 3