Meaning & use
idiom
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Meanings
nouncountable
A fixed group of words whose meaning is different from what the separate words would suggest.
Grammar: Countable: an idiom like kick the bucket.
Patterns
- an idiom for something
- use an idiom
Kick the bucket is an idiom meaning to die.
Learners often find English idioms confusing.
She used an idiom that I had never heard.
nouncountableformal
The typical way of speaking or writing of a particular group, region or time.
Grammar: Often with a descriptive word: the local idiom.
Patterns
- in the idiom of something
He wrote in the idiom of the nineteenth century.
The novel captures the local idiom perfectly.
Her speech was full of the idiom of the street.
nouncountablemusic
A particular style of expression in art or music.
Grammar: Often in the idiom of: a jazz idiom.
Patterns
- in a jazz idiom
The composer worked in a classical idiom.
The painter developed her own visual idiom.
They played in a blues idiom.
Word forms
| plural | idioms |
|---|
Common combinations
- English idiom
- This English idiom is hard to translate.
- common idiom
- It is a common idiom in spoken English.
- use an idiom
- Try not to use an idiom with new learners.
- idiom dictionary
- I looked it up in an idiom dictionary.
- literal meaning of an idiom
- The literal meaning of the idiom is silly.
Synonyms and how they differ
- expression
- Expression is general for any phrase, while idiom means the meaning cannot be guessed from the words.
- phrase
- Phrase is any group of words, whereas an idiom has a fixed figurative meaning.
- saying
- A saying is usually a short piece of advice, while an idiom is a fixed figurative phrase.
Opposites
Word family
- idiomatic adjective
- natural and typical of a language
- idiomatically adverb
- in a natural, native-like way
- idiosyncrasy noun
- a personal peculiarity
Commonly confused: idiom or idiot?
idiom vs idiot
An idiot is a foolish person, a rude word; idiom is a type of phrase.
Practice
"It is raining cats and dogs" is an example of an ____.
Choose one answer.
An idiom is a fixed phrase with a non-literal meaning. The other options are similar-looking words with different meanings.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “idiom”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.