500+ English Idioms with Urdu Meanings and Example Sentences

Learn the list of 500+ English idioms with Urdu meanings and useful example sentences. This lesson is going to be very helpful for you if you are looking for an easy or understandable lesson on English idioms.

What is an Idiom?

An idiom is a phrase or expression that typically presents a figurative, non-literal meaning attached to the phrase; but some phrases become figurative idioms while retaining the literal meaning of the phrase. 

Categorized as formulaic language, an idiom’s figurative meaning is different from the literal meaning. Because idioms don’t always make sense literally, you’ll need to familiarize yourself with the meaning and usage of each idiom. Commonly used Idioms.

Definition of Idiom: A manner of speaking that is natural to native speakers of a language. Every language has its own collection of wise sayings.

500 Idioms with Meaning and Sentences

IDIOMS	URDU MEANINGS	SENTENCES
Apple of Eye	آنکھ کا تارا	My son is an apple of my eye.
Apple of discard	جھگڑے کی وجہ	Kashmir is the apple of discard between India and Pakistan.
Apple pie	صاف ستھرا	You should arrange the books in Apple pie order.
Beast of prey	شکاری درندا	Tiger is a beast of prey.
Bed of roses	پھولوں کی سیج	Life is not a bed of roses.
Black sheep	کالی بھیڑیں	We should be aware of the black sheep in society.
Big gun	بڑی شخصیت	If you work hard, you will be a big gun in no time.
Bull in China shop	غیر ضروری آدمی	Zahid is a bull in China shop because he creates tension.
*** and bull story	من گھڑت کہانی	You cannot impress me by creating *** and bull story.
Chicken hearted	بزدل آدمی	He is really a chicken-hearted fellow.
Close fisted	کنجوس	My father is not a close-fisted man.

IDIOMS	URDU MEANINGS	SENTENCES
Cry in wilderness	بے سود رہنا	My protest against injustice proved to be a cry in the wilderness.
Fool’s paradise	احمقوں کی جنت	Are you living in a fool’s paradise?
Yeoman’ Service	عمدہ خدمات	The Quaid-e-Azam did yeoman’s service to the nation.
Man of letters	ادیب	Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi was a man of letters.
Broken reed	غیر یقینی سہارا	He proved to be a broken reed when I was in trouble.
Crocodile tears	مگرمچھ کے آنسو	That cunning woman was shedding crocodile tears.
Fair weather friend	مطلبی دوست	It is a foolish thing to depend on fair-weather friends.
Gala day	خوشی کا دن	14th August is a gala day for Pakistanis.
Henpecked Husband	جوروکا غلام	Afzal is a henpecked husband.
Iron will	آہنی عزم	No, he is a man of iron will.

IDIOMS	URDU MEANINGS	SENTENCES
Rainy Day	مشکل وقت	It is wise to save money for a rainy day.
Scot Free	صاف بچ نکلنا	The criminal escaped scot-free with the help of jailer.
Moot Point	قابل بحث	Kashmir is still a moot point between India and Pakistan.
Nine day’s wonder	مختصر	Life is just a nine-day wonder.
Uphill task	دشوار کام	It’s an uphill task to teach a fool like you.
Tall talk	شوخیاں	Your tall talk is beyond my understanding.
Slowcoach	بدھو	You are a slow coach.
Snake in grass	آستین کا سانپ	You’ve really proved a snake in the grass for me.
Bag and baggage	بوریا بستر	You had better leave my house bag and baggage.

IDIOMS	URDU MEANINGS	SENTENCES
Castles in air	ہوائی قلعے	Despite building castles in the air you should work hard.
Bolt from blue	ناگہانی آفت	His death was a bolt from blue to us.
Cat and dog life	لڑائی جھگڑے والی زندگی	He and his wife are leading a cat and dog life.
Man of words	وعدے کا پکا	My friend is a man of words.
Storm in cup of tea	چائے کی پیالی میں طوفان	Our opposition is accustomed to creating a storm in a cup of tea.
Hush money	رشوت	He got the job by paying hush money.
Laughing stock	ہنسی کا گول گپا	Majeed is a laughing stock.
Olive branch	امن کی پیشکش	Pakistan has always offered the olive branch to India.
Point Blank	سیدھا سیدھا	He rejected my proposal point blank.
Past Master	ماہر	Mr. Adnan is a past master in teaching English.

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• Meaning: as soon as possible; immediately
• Sentence: The report is urgent; the president needs it A.S.A.P.

• Meaning: Absent Without Official Leave; This is a military term to mean one who deserts his post; it is also used to deem anyone who leaves a situation without notifying anyone
• Sentence: The soldier was so sick of war that he went to A.W.O.L. in January.

• Meaning: to suddenly change course and go in the opposite direction
• Sentence: Mom thought it was a bad idea for me to marry Rick, but when he demonstrated how kind he was, she did an about-face on the subject.

• Meaning: a disaster in the making; the warning that trouble is ahead
• Sentence: The pitcher of water was teetering on the window-sill, which was an accident waiting to happen.

• Meaning: something is done on purpose, under the guise of an accident; a seemingly harmless mistake
• Sentence: Since she was jealous of her competitors in the race, it looked like she tripped the girl next to her “accidentally on purpose”.

• Meaning: a weakness or vulnerability – The Greek god, Achilles, was dipped in the River Styx by his mother to make him stronger; however, the only part of his body not submerged was his heel, which was his weak spot; For thousands of years, this has been a metaphor for weakness
• Sentence: He played piano well, but his Achilles heel was rhythm.

• Meaning: a useful thing to fall back on, in case the course one is pursuing does not work out; This comes from poker; an ace, hidden in one’s hand, is often useful to have at the end of the game
• Sentence: The man tried to persuade the firm to give him a job, and his ace in the hole was a great recommendation from its founder.

• Meaning: the test by which something is determined to be genuine; This comes from the jewel world: jewelers, knowing that nitric acid will melt most metals, like brass, but not gold, put a drop of acid on metal to see if it is gold or not
• Sentence: The acid test given to the woman claiming to be from Argentina was if she spoke Spanish.

• Meaning: the lump in the throat, most prominent in men – This term refers to the Garden of Eden when a piece of apple (the forbidden fruit) presumably got stuck in the throat of Adam
• Sentence: Jimmy was very thin, with Adam’s apple sticking out of his neck like an extra nose.

• Meaning: to make things worse
• Sentence: He added fuel to the fire when he came in late for work after having taken four days off without permission.

• Meaning: to make a bad situation worse; to further hurt one who is already injured – This expression is known to have first appeared in the fifth book of fables, by Phaedrus, in the first century, AD
• Sentence: Minnie told her boyfriend that besides having an ugly car, he also was a bad driver, adding insult to injury.

• Meaning: that which goes against the expected way
• Sentence: On a piece of wood, one side is smooth and the other (“against the grain”) is rough. To have to call a much younger boss,” sir”, really went against the grain.

• Meaning: in advance
• Sentence: I knew I would be busy in the morning, so I laid my clothes out the night before.

• Meaning: confused
• Sentence: This is from the British slang, “ballocks”, referring to testicles. He got all bollixed up with the new photo-copy machine.

• Meaning: to be listening intently
• Sentence: When Agent Peters said he learned some new information that may solve the case, we were all ears.

• Meaning: very fashionable and popular
• Sentence: Carrie bought one of the new little phone cases which are all the rage now.

• Meaning: a proverb to describe something shiny with no value
• Sentence: He saw the beautiful but shallow woman as an example of “all that glitters is not gold”.

• Meaning: very clumsy
• Sentence: Henry was all thumbs with the new baby, not knowing how to hold her.

• Meaning: mistaken; full of nonsense
• Sentence: You’re all wet if you think it’s a good idea to let a 15-year-old stay home alone for the weekend.

• Meaning: a lawyer who pursues accident victims
• Sentence: Jim got a call from an ambulance chaser after his car accident, asking if he was considering a lawsuit.

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