Want to expand your understanding of noun phrases? This guide provides over 300 noun phrases from A to Z, complete with meanings and examples. Perfect for learners looking to enhance their English skills, this lesson will help you master the use of noun phrases in sentences, arranged alphabetically for easy reference.
Noun Phrases Alphabetically Arranged with Examples
Noun Phrases Starts With Letter A
- A bag of bones: an extremely thin person (ہڈیوں کا ڈھانچہ)
Example: His maidservant is a bag of bones.
If you do not eat more, you’ll soon be a bag of bones.
- A bed of roses: comfortable
Example: Life is not a bed of roses for a ruler in Pakistan.
- A bed of thorns: a difficult thing
Example: Life is a bed of thorns for a policeman.
- A beast of burden: an animal used for carrying heavy loads
Example: The donkey is a beast of burden.
- A big gun/shot: a big and important person
Example: He is a big gun in the world of business.
He has become a big gun/shot after becoming an M.N.A.
- A bird of passage: a migratory bird
Example: Do not trust him; he is a bird of passage.
- A bird’s eye view: is a view seen from above as by a bird flying.
Example: The headmaster took a bird’s eye view of the class.
- A black sheep: That member who is thought to be a disgrace to the other members of it.
Example: He is the black sheep of our family because he has been in jail twice.
Now every profession has got its black sheep.
- A blessing in disguise: something that proves to be fortunate after seeing unfortunate.
Example: The loss of wealth sometimes is a business in disguise.
- A blind alley: a narrow street closed at one end.
Example: The thief was easily caught when he ran into a blind alley.
- A blue-eyed boy: a favorite
Example: Mr. Saleem is a blue-eyed boy of his boss.
John was always the blue-eyed boy at school.
- A bluestocking: a woman having a literary taste
Example: She is not well educated but she is a bluestocking.
- A bolt from the blue: a sudden calamity
Example: The news of his son’s death in the car accident was a bolt from the blue for him.
- A bone of contention: the root of evil
Example: This piece of land is a bone of contention between the two brothers.
- A broken reed: someone untrusted worthy, not to be relied upon.
Example: Do not tell your secrets to him because he is a broken reed.
- A brown study: thinking deeply and not noticing what is happening around one
Example: I startled him from his brown study.
- A bull in a China shop: a wreckless or clumsy destroyer
Example: My son behaved like a bull in a China shop and destroyed everything in the library.
- A cooled blooded murder: a cruel murder
Example: The killing of Liaquat Ali Khan was a cold-blooded murder.
- As the crow flies: in a direct, a straightway
Example: This road leads to the station as straight as the crow flies.
- A cry in the wilderness: an impossible thing
Example: The cry of peace is a cry in the wilderness.
- At cross purpose: two persons having opposite views, that they do not understand each other.
Example: He is at a cross purpose with his father on the issue of his marriage.
I think we have been talking at cross purpose.
- A casting view: decisive vote
Example: The matter was decided by the casting vote of the speaker.
- A cat and dog life: a life of quarrels
Example: The husband and wife are leading a cat and dog life.
- A cat’s paw: a person used as a tool by another paw
Example: He is a cat’s paw in the hands of his wife.
- A chip of the old block: A child possessing the qualities of his father or mother
Example: He is a lover of money like his father. He will prove a chip off the old block.
- Achilles’ heel: The weak point in man’s circumstances or character.
Example: His Achilles’ heel was his pride.
- A close-fisted man: a miser, unwilling to spend money
Example: He does not give anything in charity. He is a close-fisted man.
Nobody likes him because he is a close-fisted man.
- A cock and bull story: An incredible story
Example: He narrated a cock and bull story.
His marriage with a film actress is a cock and bull story.
- A dark horse: An unexpected winner
Example: He proved a dark horse and came finally in the annual examination.
- A dead letter: Something no longer in force
Example: This law on divorce has already become a dead letter.
- A dog in the manger: A churlish person, who does not use a thing himself and does not let others use it.
Example: Salma is a real dog in the manger. She cannot drive, but she will not lend her car to anyone.
- A drawn game: A game in which neither party wins.
Example: The two teams played a drawn game.
- At daggers drawn: To have enmity
Example: All the religious parties in Pakistan are at daggers drawn with one another.
- An eyewash: Trickery, deception
Example: His sympathy for me was merely an eyewash.
Elections in Pakistan are just an eyewash.
- A fair-weather friend: A friend who leaves you in trouble
Example: Do not trust him, he is a fair-weather friend.
A fair-weather friend is not of much help in an emergency.
- A feather in one’s cap: Feather a distinction
Example: The prize that he won was quite a feather in his cap.
- A far cry: A long-distance; a very different thing from
Example: London is a far cry from here.
Truth in politics is a far cry.
- A fish out of water: A state of uneasiness
Example: The mother felt like a fish out of water in the absence of her child.
- A fishy story: Doubtful, seeing bad or dishonest
Example: He narrated a fishy story about his progress in the business.
- A fly in the ointment: Something that spoils a good situation
Example: The function was going on well, but his presence proved a fly in the ointment.
- A fool’s errand: Useless or unprofitable mission
Example: This plan came to be a fool’s errand.
- A fool’s paradise: To be the victim of illusory happiness
Example: They think they can line on love alone but they are living in a fool’s paradise.
People who think there will be peace in the world, are living in a fool’s paradise.
- A Freudian slip: Something you say that is different from what you intended to say
Example: Freudian: related to the theory of Freud about the interpretation of dreams.
- A gala day: A happy day
Example: 14th August is a gala day for the Muslims of Pakistan.
- A give and take: A policy of mutual accommodation and forbearance
Example: We should adopt a give and take policy in life.
- A Gordian knot: A difficult problem
Example: To build Kalabagh Dam is to cut a Gordian knot.
- A hard nut to crack: An uphill task
Example: To root out corruption from our society is a hard nut to crack.
- A hard and fast rule: Fixed; set
Example: There are no hard and fast rules for writing an essay.
- A hairbreadth escape: A narrow escape
Example: He had a hairbreadth escape in the car accident.
- A hat trick: Three successive victories
Example: Imran khan had a hat trick in the cricket match when he bowled out three players of the Indian team.
- A hearty meal: A large meal
Example: Most of the laborers in Pakistan do not have a hearty meal these days.
- A henpecked husband: A husband who obeys his wife
Example: He cannot help you without the permission of his wife as he is a henpecked husband.
- A Herculean task: A very difficult task
Example: A work which can be performed by Hercules strength.
Example: To make an end of employment in Pakistan is a Herculean task.
- A house of cards: A plan that is likely to fail
Example: The term is an allusion to a children’s game of constructing a toy house with playing cards.
Example: His plan to reform the world fell to pieces like a house of cards.
- A hole and corner policy: A policy based on secrets and dishonest motives and action
Example: I do not like the hole and corner policy of the company in which I work.
- A hornet’s nest: To create an unpleasant situation
Example: You may stir up a hornet’s nest if you dismiss him from service.
- Hot water: In trouble
Example: You’ll be in hot water if you’re late again.
- A jack of all trades: A person who can do any kind of work
Example: He is a jack of all trades but master of none.
- A jailbird: A person who has been in prison several time
Example: He is an old jailbird and has been convicted many times before.
- A jaundiced eye: A prejudiced mind
Example: Everything appears yellow to a jaundiced eye.
Example: He looks at the present rulers with a jaundiced eye.
- A knotty problem: A difficult problem
Example: To end poverty in Pakistan has become a knotty problem.
- A lame excuse: Unsatisfactory explanation
Example: Do not make a lame excuse to leave the class.
- A labor of love: A thankless labor
Example: My father is doing a labor of love in the education department.
- A live wire: A person full of energy, A person full of action wire
Example: Our new principal is a man of action. He is a live wire.
- At large: Free
Example: The thief is still at large.
- Aladdin’s lamp: Anything that helps you to realize your desire in the shortest time.
Example: Ready money is Aladdin’s lamp. (Lord Byron)
Example: Goodwill is almost as effective as Aladdin’s lamp.
- At loggerheads: To be on inimical terms
Example: She is at loggerheads with her boss over the new working hours.
Example: Management and staff are at loggerheads over the plan.
- A laughing stock: Someone who is laughed at
Example: If I wear that hat, I shall be the laughing stock of the village.
Example: He was the laughing stock of the school.
- All moonshine: Altogether foolish or untrue
Example: His declaration to serve mankind throughout his life is all moonshine.
- All the rage: In the current fashion
Example: The new hairstyle has become all the rage among the girls.
- A man of letters: Literary man
Example: Dr. Iqbal is a man of letters.
- A man of parts: A man of superior ability
Example: Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan is a man of parts.
- A man of spirits: Brave person
Example: Major Aziz Bhatti is a man of spirits.
- A man of straw: Of no importance
Example: Nobody respects him, because he is a man of straw.
- A maiden speech: The first speech that one makes
Example: His maiden speech in the Assembly was successful.
- A mare’s nest: A hoax, an imaginary plan (خیالی تجویز)
- A moot point: A point or question open to discussion
Example: The scope and applications of family planning in Pakistan are still a moot point.
- A necessary evil: An evil that cannot be avoided
Example: Examinations are a necessary evil.
- A nail in the coffin: An action or thing that may bring something to make an end of something
Example: The new taxation policy proved a nail in the Government’s coffin.
- Animal spirits: Youthful cheerfulness and vigor
Example: The children were full of animal spirits on Eid day.
- An open secret: A secret known to everybody
Example: His marriage with a beautiful actress in an open secret.
- An oily tongue: Oily, covered with oil
Example: Beware of the oily tongue of your new friend.
- At one’s wits ends: Utterly confused and desperate
Example: I am at my wit’s end with his complicated situations.
I am at my wit’s end at the loss of my documents.
- Apple of someone’s eye: Someone’s favorite person or thing
Example: He is the apple of his father’s eye.
- An apple of discord: An object of dispute
Example: This house is an apple of discord between two brothers.
- Apple pie order: Perfectly neat and methodical arrangements
Example: The books were lying on the table in apple-pie order.
The room was in apple-pie order.
- A queer fish: A strange or crazy person
Example: It is a colloquialism for a strange person.
Example: Your new boss is a queer fish. He does strange things in the meeting.
- A rainy day: Time of difficult
Example: We must lay by something or against a rainy day.
- A red-letter day: An auspicious or fortunate day
Example: 14th August 1947 is a red-letter day in the history of Pakistan.
- A red rag to the bull: The cause of provocation
Example: My name to my enemy is a red rag to the bull.
- A ruling passion: Dominating passion
Example: Greed has become a ruling passion with most of us nowadays.
- A rolling stone: An unstable person
Example: A rolling stone gathers no moss.
- A random shot: A carelessly made answer or shot
Example: It was a random shot and we should not take it seriously.
- A raw deal: Unfair treatment
Example: Women got a raw deal when it comes to paying.
- A right-hand man: A person’s most trusted and useful assistant
Example: The head clerk of our college is the right-hand man of the principal.
- A rotten apple or a rotten egg: One bad person who has a bad effect on others in a group
Example: Our class is very peaceful as there is no rotten apple in it.
Example: There are many rotten apples in every department of the university.
- A rope of sand: A bond that is easily broken
Example: Your promise to lend him money is a rope of sand.
- A scapegoat: A person singled out for punishment
Example: All of them were guilty but Aslam was made a scapegoat.
- A serpent in the egg: In the first stage
Example: When a bad custom begins, we must kill the serpent in the egg.
- At sea: Puzzled, bewildered
Example: I am at sea to understand the mystery of the universe.
- A short cut: A shorter way
Example: There is no shortcut to success.
- A sheet anchor: The last and best hope for safety
Example: This medicine served as a sheet anchor for his life.
- A sight for sore eyes: دکھتی ہوئی آنکھیں،خوشگوار صورت حال
Example: You are a sight for sore eyes.
Example: Your presence among us is a sight for sore eyes.
Noun Phrases Starts With Letter B
- By the backstairs: Private influence of an unworthy nature
Example: I got the job in the education department by the backstairs.
- Bad blood: Ill feeling
Example: There has always been bad blood between the two brothers.
- Better half: Wife
Example: You should be sincere and kind to your better half.
- Brevity is the soul of wit: اختصار سے گفتگو ذہانت کا جوہر ہوتی ہے
Example: You must not beat about the bush; you must know that brevity is the soul of wit.
- Birds of a feather: ہم نوالہ، ہم پیالہ، ایک جیسا مزاج
Example: Birds of a feather flock together.
- Blue blood: Royal blood
Example: She is a blue-blooded duchess.
Example: There runs blue blood in her veins.
- Burning question: An urgent and important matter
Example: The burning question is when Kashmir will become a part of Pakistan.
- Below one’s dignity: Contrary to one’s honor
Example: It is below my dignity to do injustice to a poor worker.
- Below the belt: Unfair method
Example: A true Muslim does not hit his enemy below the belt.
- Behind the scenes: Privately, Secretly
Example: A new agreement of friendship has been drawn between India and Pakistan behind the scenes.
- Bolt from the blue or out of blue: A sudden calamity
Example: The news of his son’s death in the car accident was a bolt from the blue for me.
Noun Phrases Starts With Letter C
- Capital punishment: Death sentence
Example: The child-lifters should be awarded capital punishment.
- Chicken hearted: Cowardly (بزدل)
Example: Only the chicken-hearted persons can flatter their officers.
- Child’s play: Work demanding no efforts
Example: It is not child’s play to pass the CSS examination.
- Cold comfort: No consolation at all, no satisfaction
Example: The promise to help her may appear cold comfort to her.
- Creature comforts: What makes the body comfortable
Example: Most of us do not have creature comforts in Pakistan.
- Crocodile tears: False tears (مگرمچھ کے آنسو، جھوٹے آنسو)
It was a false belief that the crocodile wept to allure its victims.
Example: The stepmother shed crocodile tears on her son’s death.
Example: She shed crocodile tears at our misery.
- Cupboard love: Love which is based on dead selfishness
Example: Being a selfish person, he has a cupboard in love with his wife.
Noun Phrases Starts With Letters D, E, F
- D-Days: Fixed day to start some movement (refers to the freedom movement started in America)
Example: 5th Feb is a D-Day for the freedom fighters of Kashmir.
- Dog’s life: Miserable life
Example: The poor lead a dog’s life in Pakistan.
- Double face: Insincere, Hypocrite
Example: Most of the politicians in Pakistan are double-faced.
- Every inch: Completely
Example: He is every inch a gentleman.
- Fair play: Fairness and justice in the control of an activity
Example: Islam directs us to have fair play even with the enemy.
- Foul play: A criminal act esp. involving murder
Example: The police suspect foul play in the death of a public leader.
- Fair sex: Women
Example: We should be polite and kind to the fair sex.
- For good: Forever
Example: He gave up smoking for good.
- French leave: Leave without permission
Example: Many students take French leave from the class to see a film.
Example: The clerk took French leave after working hard for a week.
Noun Phrases Starts With Letters G, H, I
- Gift of the gab: Fluency of speech
Example: The president possessed the gift of the gab and impressed the audience.
- Good for nothing: Useless
Example: My servant is good for nothing fellow.
- Hand in glove with: In intimate terms
Example: Ali and Arshad are great friends. They are hand in glove with each other.
- In black and white: In writing
Example: Give me your statement in black and white.
- In the doldrums: To be in low spirits
Example: He was in the doldrums at his failure to marry the girl of his liking.
- In one’s elements: To be in agreeable circumstances
Example: Our players of cricket were in their element before the start of the match.
- In a fix: Colloquial for to be in difficulty
Example: We are in a fix and do not know what to do in this hour of misery.
- In full swing: Going ahead or continuing, vigorously
Example: The work was in full swing.
- In good books: Favorite
Example: He is in the good books of his teacher.
- Into the bargain: Extra
Example: He purchased the house but got the furniture into the bargain.
- In a nutshell: Briefly
Example: Give your statement in a nutshell.
- Ins and outs: The complete details of a plan
Example: He alone knows the ins and outs of this plan.
- Iron hand: Firm control, severely
Example: Akbar ruled India with an iron hand.
Example: The Government crushed the criminal with an iron hand.
- Iron will: Strong determination
Example: Quaid-E-Azam was a man of iron will.
- In the air: Known to everybody
Example: The news of his murder is in the air.
- Ill at ease: Uncomfortable
Example: He is an angry person. I always feel ill at ease in his company.
- In the pipeline: Already being considered, Prepared, or developed but not yet ready
Example: A new plan to end poverty is in the pipeline.
Noun Phrases Starts With Letters J, K, L, M, N
- The last straw: A little addition that makes a thing very miserable
Example: Quaid-E-Azam’s hard work in his old age proved the last straw for his health.
- Lion’s share: The largest show
Example: The wife got the lion’s share of her husband’s property.
- Maiden speech: First speech (Maiden: A young girl who is unmarried)
Example: His maiden speech in the Assembly was successful.
- Not worth the salt: May do not deserve the pay that one gets
Example: My new servant does not work sincerely, he is certainly not worth the salt.
Noun Phrases Starts With Letters O, P, Q
- On the cards: Likely to happen
Example: The strike by the railway workers is on the cards.
- On the air: Broadcasting on radio or television
Example: He is on the air almost every week.
- Open secret: A secret known to everybody
Example: His marriage with a film actress is an open secret.
- On the anvil: Under discussion
Example: The new education policy is on the anvil.
- On the horns of a dilemma: To be in a fix
Example: She likes Ali but her parents force her to marry her cousin. She is on the horns of a dilemma and does not know what to do.
- On the spur of the moment: At once
Example: The fire brigade reached the house on fire on the spur of the moment.
- On one’s last legs: Very near to falling down, or collapsing with exhaustion
Example: Our cricket team is on its last legs.
- Once in a blue moon: Very rarely
(The appearance of a blue moon is a rare phenomenon.)
Example: He visits the college office once in a blue moon.
- Out at elbows: Shabby, worn, cut
Example: He always wears that old jacket although it is out at elbows.
- Pandora’s Box: A collection of evils
Example: The publication of this book opened up a Pandora’s Box in politics.
- Point-blank: Plainly or directly and perhaps rudely
Example: He refused to help me point-blank.
Example: I told him point-blank that we no longer wanted him to work for us.
- Red tape: Official rules that seem more complicated than necessary and prevent things from beings done
Example: Because of red tape, Ali took weeks to get a visa.
Example: Most of our offices suffer from the red tape.
- Royal road: Easy path
Example: There is no royal road to learn the English language.
Noun Phrases Starts With Letters S, T, U, V, W
- Small hours: The hours immediately after midnight
Example: She works into the small hours every night.
- Small talk: Polite conversation about unimportant things
Example: After the meeting, the members of staff made small talk for a while.
- Scot-free: Escape from a situation without receiving the punishment
Example: She was punished while the others got off scot-free.
- The schoolmaster is abroad: Education
Example: The schoolmaster is abroad in Pakistan.
- Star-crossed: Unlucky
Example: He is star-crossed as his parents died in childhood.
- Sour grapes: Saying or pretending that something is not worth having because one cannot obtain it
Example: His search for an attractive job proved sour grapes for him.
- Tall talk: Boastfulness, Exaggerated language
Example: The story of his stay in America appeared to be a tall talk.
- To the backbone: In every way, completely
Example: He is honest to the backbone.
- The fourth estate: The press, the newspaper
Example: The fourth estate wields a great influence in a democratic country.
- The crux of the problem: The real difficulty of a question
Example: The crux of the problem is how to end poverty in Pakistan.
- The old Adam: The unredeemed part of a man’s nature, prone to sin and error
Example: Everybody has the old Adam in him.
- The salt of the earth: Very good and worthy person
Example: The companions of the Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H) are the salt of the earth.
- The eternal triangle: Problems arising, from two women’s love for one man or two men’s love for one woman.
Example: The theme of most of the Pakistan films is the eternal triangle.
- The milk of human kindness: Kind feelings
Example: The Hindus do not have the milk of human kindness for the Kashmiris’.
- The sword of Damocles: A bad or unpleasant thing that might happen to you at any time
Example: The sword of Damocles was hanging over me since I discovered that I was going to be divorced.
Example: This law hangs like a sword of Damocles over the future of the country.
- Tongue in cheek: Insincere without meaning what one says
Example: He said it with his tongue in his cheek.
Example: He said he was terribly sorry but I know spoke with his tongue in his cheek.
- The writing on the wall: Something which shows that a disaster or failure is about to happen
Example: The downfall of the present rulers in Pakistan seems to be the writing on the wall.
- The three Rs. : Reading, writing, and arithmetic, thought of as the most necessary parts of a basic necessary
Example: Modern education does not lay much stress on three Rs.
- Under a cloud: Under suspicious, in trouble of disgrace
Example: He left his job under a cloud.
- The underdog: A person or country that is weak and is always treated badly
Example: The underdog in a Muslim society must be treated well.
- Thumbnail sketch: A short description giving main facts
Example: I cannot show the thumbnail sketch of my future planning.
- Up to the mark: To reach the required or normal standard
Example: His method of teaching is not up to the mark.
- Up with the lark: To rise very early
Example: He rises up with the lark and goes out for a walk in the evening.
- With flying colors: With a distinction
Example: He passed the B.A. examination with flying colors.
- With a grain of salt: To believe a thing with grain hesitation
Example: We should accept his statement with a grain of salt.
- With open arms: Warmly
Example: He received the Chief Guest with open arms.
- Worthwhile: Useful
Example: This medicine is worthwhile for fever.
- Yeoman’s service: Help in need
Yeoman (زرعی اراضی کا مالک جو خود اس پر کاشت کرتا ہو)
Example: The army rendered yeoman’s service to the flood affected people.
- Yellow press: Press which is based on sided and prejudiced views
Example: In underdeveloped countries, the yellow press is often in progress.
