50 English Idioms for Competitive Exams

In this blog post, I will explain some English Idioms for competitive Exams. I’ll also give you meanings and easy examples.

English is an important subject in many competitive exams like SSC, Banking, CDS, NDA, Railways, and more.

One part of English that often confuses students is idioms. Idioms are phrases that don’t mean exactly what the words say. For example, “It’s raining cats and dogs” doesn’t mean animals are falling from the sky. It simply means it’s raining heavily.

In many exams, you will be asked to find the meaning of idioms or use the correct idiom in a sentence.

This post is helpful for:

English beginners and ESL learners
Kids, school, and college students
Working professionals
English teachers and future teachers

Table of Contents

What is an Idiom?

An idiom is a group of words with a special meaning. You cannot guess its meaning by looking at individual words. You need to learn it as a phrase.

For example:

“Break the ice” means: to start a conversation in a friendly way.
“A piece of cake” means: something very easy.

Let’s now look at 50 important idioms you should know for competitive exams.

What Are English Idioms?

1. A piece of cake

Meaning: Very easy
Example: This question is a piece of cake for me.

2. Break the ice

Meaning: To start a conversation
Example: The teacher broke the ice by telling a joke.

3. Hit the nail on the head

Meaning: To say exactly the right thing
Example: You hit the nail on the head with your answer.

4. Once in a blue moon

Meaning: Very rarely
Example: I watch movies once in a blue moon.

5. Kill two birds with one stone

Meaning: Do two things at the same time
Example: By visiting my uncle, I killed two birds with one stone – I met him and also saw the city.

6. Let the cat out of the bag

Meaning: To reveal a secret
Example: He let the cat out of the bag about the surprise party.

7. Speak your mind

Meaning: Say what you really think
Example: She always speaks her mind, even if people don’t like it.

8. Burn the midnight oil

Meaning: Work late at night
Example: I burned the midnight oil to prepare for my exam.

9. Under the weather

Meaning: Feeling sick
Example: I didn’t go to school today because I was under the weather.

10. In hot water

Meaning: In trouble
Example: He is in hot water because he didn’t complete his homework.

11. Hit the books

Meaning: To study
Example: I need to hit the books before the test.

12. The ball is in your court

Meaning: It is your turn to decide
Example: I gave my suggestion. Now the ball is in your court.

13. Pull someone’s leg

Meaning: To joke with someone
Example: Don’t worry, I was just pulling your leg.

14. Keep an eye on

Meaning: Watch carefully
Example: Please keep an eye on my bag.

15. Cost an arm and a leg

Meaning: Very expensive
Example: That phone cost me an arm and a leg.

16. A blessing in disguise

Meaning: Something good that seems bad at first
Example: Losing that job was a blessing in disguise.

17. Don’t cry over spilt milk

Meaning: Don’t worry about things you can’t change
Example: The glass is broken. Don’t cry over spilt milk.

18. Every cloud has a silver lining

Meaning: Good things come even in bad situations
Example: I missed the train, but met an old friend. Every cloud has a silver lining.

19. Actions speak louder than words

Meaning: What you do is more important than what you say
Example: He always helps others. His actions speak louder than words.

20. Make a mountain out of a molehill

Meaning: To make a small problem big
Example: Don’t make a mountain out of a molehill. It’s just a small mistake.

21. Add fuel to the fire

Meaning: To make a problem worse
Example: Don’t shout. You are adding fuel to the fire.

22. Barking up the wrong tree

Meaning: Blaming the wrong person
Example: I didn’t break the vase. You are barking up the wrong tree.

23. Bite the bullet

Meaning: To face a difficult situation
Example: I have to bite the bullet and finish the work.

24. Burn one’s fingers

Meaning: To suffer from a bad experience
Example: He burned his fingers in the stock market.

25. Call it a day

Meaning: Stop working for the day
Example: We are tired. Let’s call it a day.

26. Come to the point

Meaning: Say directly
Example: Please don’t waste time. Come to the point.

27. Cut corners

Meaning: To do something badly to save time or money
Example: Don’t cut corners in quality.

28. Get cold feet

Meaning: To feel nervous
Example: He got cold feet before the performance.

29. Hit the road

Meaning: To leave or start a journey
Example: We need to hit the road early tomorrow.

30. Keep your fingers crossed

Meaning: Hope for the best
Example: I have my interview today. Keep your fingers crossed.

31. Leave no stone unturned

Meaning: Try everything possible
Example: He left no stone unturned in his preparation.

32. On cloud nine

Meaning: Very happy
Example: She was on cloud nine after winning the prize.

33. Out of the blue

Meaning: Suddenly
Example: He called me out of the blue.

34. Rome wasn’t built in a day

Meaning: Big things take time
Example: Be patient. Rome wasn’t built in a day.

35. Rule of thumb

Meaning: A general rule
Example: As a rule of thumb, drink 2 litres of water daily.

36. Sit on the fence

Meaning: Not to take sides
Example: He is sitting on the fence in this matter.

37. Smell a rat

Meaning: To be suspicious
Example: I smell a rat in this deal.

38. Steal someone’s thunder

Meaning: To take credit for someone else’s work
Example: He stole my thunder by taking my idea.

39. Take it with a grain of salt

Meaning: Don’t believe completely
Example: Take what he says with a grain of salt.

40. Throw in the towel

Meaning: To give up
Example: He didn’t throw in the towel, even after failing twice.

41. Through thick and thin

Meaning: In good and bad times
Example: True friends stay with you through thick and thin.

42. Under your nose

Meaning: Happening nearby without your knowledge
Example: The theft happened right under his nose.

43. Up in the air

Meaning: Uncertain
Example: My travel plan is still up in the air.

44. Water under the bridge

Meaning: Past problem, no longer important
Example: Forget it, it’s water under the bridge.

45. You can’t judge a book by its cover

Meaning: Don’t decide based on looks
Example: He looks rude, but is very kind. You can’t judge a book by its cover.

46. Bite off more than you can chew

Meaning: Take on too much work
Example: Don’t bite off more than you can chew.

47. In black and white

Meaning: In written form
Example: I need your complaint in black and white.

48. Out of the frying pan into the fire

Meaning: From one bad situation to a worse one
Example: He changed jobs but landed out of the frying pan into the fire.

49. In the nick of time

Meaning: Just in time
Example: We reached the station in the nick of time.

50. Back to the drawing board

Meaning: Start again
Example: The plan failed. Let’s go back to the drawing board.

Final Tips to Remember Idioms

Learn 5 idioms daily. Don’t try to learn everything at once.
Use flashcards or sticky notes to help you revise.
Make your own sentences using idioms. It helps in remembering them better.
Practice with mock tests or previous year papers.
Watch English movies or read books – you’ll often find idioms in them.

Conclusion

Idioms are an important part of competitive exams. With regular practice, you can master them easily.

Always try to understand their meaning and use them in your daily conversation or writing.

This not only improves your English but also gives you confidence during exams.

I hope this blog post helped you. Keep learning, and don’t give up!