Idioms and phrases
The idiom dictionary is compiled from the Cambridge International Dictionary of Idioms and the Cambridge Dictionary of American Idioms.
The Cambridge International Dictionary of Idioms explains over 7,000 idioms current in British, American and Australian English, helping learners to understand them and use them with confidence. The Cambridge Dictionary of American Idioms, based on the 200 million words of American English text in the Cambridge International Corpus, unlocks the meaning of more than 5,000 idiomatic phrases used in contemporary American English. Full-sentence examples show how idioms are really used.
The Cambridge University Press is respected worldwide for its commitment to advancing knowledge, education, learning, and research. It was founded on a royal charter granted to the University by Henry VIII in 1534 and has been operating continuously as a printer and publisher since the first Press book was printed in 1584.
Try it out (random idioms):
- drill down
- ripe old age
- a great deal
- sell off
- hoodwink out of
- take a nosedive
- buy wolf ticket
- get off the dime
- sit up with
- same as
- plead with
- steal the spotlight
- all told
- too bad
- Get away with you!
- wearing a smile
- heavy artillery
- have the devil to pay
- burn down
- back to square one
- in the works
- like to
- thump on
- tone up
- liquid laugh
- make book on
- dub in
- rat on
- Hell's bells!
- pillar of strength
- tone in
- put across
- a flip-flop
- big jab
- gain by doing
- base on
- in just a moment
- what's eating
- let at