My clients are often interested in learning English idioms. Idioms are important to know since they are frequently used both in writing and everyday speech. Knowledge of idioms, which includes understanding them when others use them and properly using them yourself, signals that you have achieved a higher level of English language proficiency.
In addition to my web site’s idiom collection, here are some useful web sites you can use to increase your knowledge of English idioms.
The Idiom Connection is one of the best that I have seen. It sorts idioms alphabetically and by themes, such as “Business Idioms” (for example, cut a deal, put a product on the map) and “Heart Idioms” (heart goes out to, take heart). Each idiom entry includes a definition and one example sentence. At the end of the sections, you will also find little quizzes to test your knowledge.
This Wiktionary has an enormous collection of idioms sorted alphabetically, with definitions and often one or two example sentences.
English Learning Today also hosts idioms in alphabetical order and by theme. Each idiom entry includes a definition and one example sentence.
English Club lists idioms alphabetically and by themes, initially just providing a definition for each idiom. Each idiom however has a link to its own dedicated web page, that again provides a meaning, often two example sentences, sometimes a note on its origin, and then one quiz question to test your understanding of the idiom. Near the top of each thematic page is a link to a quiz to test your knowledge of many of the idioms within each theme. These thematic and other mixed quizzes are also collected together on this page, each consisting of 10 questions.
EnglishInTaiwan (which people outside of Taiwan can use too!) lists idioms alphabetically, providing short definitions and one example sentence for each idiom. It also includes a quiz at the bottom of each section.
UsingEnglish.com claims to include over 3700 idiomatic expressions on its web site. These idioms are organized alphabetically, and by theme/categories, including if the idiom is predominantly used in a particular English speaking country (i.e. American English versus British English). Each idiom entry has a definition, but unfortunately no example sentences.
My English Pages has its idiom collection sorted both in alphabetical order and according to various categories. Each idiom entry has a definition and an example sentence.
In addition to listing idioms alphabetically with definitions and often two example sentences, Brigham Young University’s English Idioms & Proverbs collection provides pictures that illustrate the meanings of the idioms. These fun pictures can help strengthen your memory of the each idiom’s meaning.
Word Power lists idioms alphabetically, also providing short definitions and one example sentence for each idiom.
learnenglishfeelgood.com also lists idioms alphabetically, with short definitions and one example sentence for each idiom.
ExamplesOf .com provides alphabetically listed idioms, with more than one letter listed per page, namely A to G, H to T, and U to Z. Each idiom entry has a definition and one example sentence.
LLBEST.COM also lists idioms alphabetically, on a rather nice looking rainbow background. Most of the idiom entries include a short definition and a sample sentence.
english-at-home.com organizes idioms in different categories, but does not seem to have an alphabetical listing. It also includes some phrasal verbs organized according to some prepositions (in, off, out, etc.). Each idiom entry includes a definition and one example sentence.
At Learn4Good, the idioms are organized into five categories: animal, business, color, food, and money idioms. Each idiom entry has a definition and one example sentence.
The Free Dictionary by Farlex idiom collection pulls randomly from thousands of entries found in two Cambridge dictionaries. Each idiom has a definition and one or two example sentences.
One of the disadvantages of many of the sites listed above, especially the ones with the largest collections of idioms, is that the idioms that are included may not be used much. This means you may be concentrating your time and effort on new vocabulary that you may never or rarely hear or see other people use. Another disadvantage of the sites is that they often have no example sentences, or at most two example sentences. Example sentences are important for a learner to understand how an idiom is used in context. Misapplying an idiom can sound very awkward, and have the opposite effect that you intended, which is to sound more like a native speaker.
As I mentioned earlier, my own web site has a collection of idioms and expressions. I designed this resource to address these concerns. The idioms included on my web site are ones that you will more likely hear, read, and use in your own speaking. In addition, each entry has a definition and five example sentences that are modeled after real sentences found in sources such as news articles, but simplified. This way you can focus on learning the idiom and not get distracted by other advanced or confusing language used in the original sentence.
For example, here is a sentence found in an article from an online news site, the Baltimore Sun:
On wind energy, Brown conceded that infant industries sometimes need government subsidies to get off the ground — pointing to such technologies as the telephone and telegraph.
The target idiom here is “get off the ground.” On my web site, using the above quote as a model, I changed and shortened the sentence into this:
Money from the government can help new industries get off the ground.
As you can see, the sentence is simpler, with other advanced vocabulary, unclear references, and complex grammar removed, so you can concentrate on learning how the idiom is applied.
I will continue to add more useful idioms to my web site, so please check back later to see and learn more frequently used idioms.
I encourage you to look at all of the web sites listed above to improve your idiom vocabulary. You might find that the idiom definition on one web site is easier for you to understand than the definition on another web site. Reading all of the definitions for one idiom on multiple web sites helps contribute to a richer understanding of the idiom. Looking at the different example sentences for each idiom provided on the different web sites can also increase your understanding of how to use the idiom in sentences that you create yourself. Most importantly, enjoy learning the idioms!
English Tutor Dia 