Welcome to our extensive list of American English idiomatic expressions! These types of phrases are used by native speakers daily. Learn these idioms and you will be on your way to speaking English in a more natural way. :)

About time:
Nearly time, high time. "It's about time you bought a new car!" 

Absence makes the heart grow fonder:
Proverb that means that our feeling for those we love increases when we are apart from them. 

(To) act high and mighty:
To act proudly and arrogantly. 

Actions speak louder than words:
Proverb meaning that's it's better to do something about a problem than to talk about it. 

(To) act one's age:
To behave in a more mature way. Frequently said to a child or teen. ex. "Bill, stop throwing rocks! Act your age!" 

(To) add fuel to the fire:
To make a bad problem even worse. 

(To) add insult to injury:
To make a bad situation even worse. 

Against the clock:
To attempt to do something "against the clock" is to attempt to do something as fast as possible usually before a deadline. 

All-out:
Complete. Very strong. "They did an all-out search for the missing boy and they found him." 

All set:
Ready (to go). "All set?" 

All thumbs:
Awkward. Clumsy. 

A little bird told me:
When someone says "a little bird told me" it means they don't want you to know who told them. 

All in a day's work:
Typical. Normal. Expected. ex. "Talking to famous celebrities is all in a day's work for some Hollywood reporters." 

(From) all walks of life:
(From) all social, economic, and ethnic groups. ex. "People from all walks of life voted for him, but he still lost the presidential election." 

Apple of someone's eye:
Someone's favorite person (and sometimes thing). ex. "Sarah was the apple of Tom's eye for quite a long time. He was very much in love with her." 

Armed to the teeth:
Heavily armed. ex. "The rebels were armed to the teeth." 

At all hours (of the night):
Very late at night, throughout the night. ex. "Her boyfriend would call her at all hours of the night." 

At each other's throats:
Fighting or arguing heavily. ex. "They were at each other's throats. The arguments never stopped." 

At this stage:
At this point. ex. "At this stage, it's difficult to say who will win the election." 

Why learn idioms?

Learning idiomatic expressions is a very important part of the language-learning process. Much of everyday speech is based on colloquial and slang vocabulary - much of this vocabulary is based on idioms.

Our collection of American English idioms will teach you the type of language that native speakers use every day. You will become more fluent in English and will be able to communicate better.

Although this is a list of American English idioms, you will find that many of these words and expressions are used all over the English-speaking world.

There are many ways for students studying the English language to improve their language skills. One of the best ways is simply by speaking as much English as possible. The activity of actually speaking English is much more similar to how a child learns to speak the English language natively. The ability to read and write English are both obviously important skills, although a child usually speaks English before learning how to read English. Since speaking a language is actually a more natural way for a human to learn, here are some recommended English speaking activities a student may appreciate and enjoy.

Speak Everything That Is Done
One fun way for an English language student to really benefit from and also enjoy is the practice of speaking everything that is done throughout the day. When waking up in the morning, a student can say aloud: “I am waking up!” When getting out of bed, a student can say: “I am getting out of bed.” When brushing their teeth, a student can say: “I am brushing my teeth.” Okay, maybe it’s better for one to be quiet while brushing one’s teeth. Hopefully the general idea of the fun practice is clear. Speak everything that is being done throughout the day, whenever possible. When walking on the sidewalk, a student can say aloud: “I am walking on the sidewalk.” When passing a tree, a student can say: “I am passing a tree.” If it is necessary for a student to look up a word in a dictionary to describe activity, then the student should do so. Looking up the right word to use for a situation is important for this practice. Using the right words again and again throughout the day is a good way to learn English vocabulary.


Story of the Day
A daily practice that can be highly useful for helping an English language student enhance their English ability is to maintain a daily journal. A written journal is a wonderful way to practice writing English and an audio journal is a great way to practice speaking English. One really good benefit of recording a daily audio journal is that it allows an English language student to actually listen to the English they are speaking. This enables a student to improve their English pronunciation skills. Another benefit is the motivation gained from a student hearing how their pronunciation improves from week to week, month to month, and year to year.  Using a computer for recording a daily journal is fine and recording audio files on a computer makes it easy to keep an audio journal properly organized. The daily audio journal can be a basic story of the day in a similar way to the previous practice listed in this article. The audio journal is done near the end of the day though, so a student would say something like: “I woke up. I got out of bed. I brushed my teeth.” The student would continue by saying what happened next and basically tell a story of the day’s activities. This can be truly enjoyable in addition to being good English practice.
Hopefully these helpful ideas will make studying the English language more fun and enjoyable. ^^