idiom

American  

[id-ee-uhm] / ˈɪd i əm /

noun

1. an expression whose meaning is not predictable from the usual meanings of its constituent elements, as kick the bucket or hang one's head, or from the general grammatical rules of a language, as the table round for the round table, and that is not a constituent of a larger expression of like characteristics.

2. a language, dialect, or style of speaking peculiar to a people.

3. a construction or expression of one language whose parts correspond to elements in another language but whose total structure or meaning is not matched in the same way in the second language.

4. the peculiar character or genius of a language.

5. a distinct style or character, in music, art, etc..

   the idiom of Bach.

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idiom British  

/ ˈɪdɪəm, ˌɪdɪəˈmætɪk /

noun

1. a group of words whose meaning cannot be predicted from the meanings of the constituent words, as for example ( It was raining ) cats and dogs

2. linguistic usage that is grammatical and natural to native speakers of a language

3. the characteristic vocabulary or usage of a specific human group or subject

4. the characteristic artistic style of an individual, school, period, etc

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idiom Cultural  

1. A traditional way of saying something. Often an idiom, such as “under the weather,” does not seem to make sense if taken literally. Someone unfamiliar with English idioms would probably not understand that to be “under the weather” is to be sick. (See examples under “Idioms.”)

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Usage

What does idiom mean? An idiom is a term whose meaning cannot be determined from the literal meanings of the words it is made of. Many idioms are figurative—they’re intended to create an image, association, or other effect in the mind of the listener or reader that goes beyond the literal meaning or expected use of the words involved. It is raining cats and dogs is a common English idiom. Literally, that sentence would mean animals are falling from the clouds. What the idiom actually means is that it is raining very heavily. Here are some more examples of common English idioms:

• Hit the sack means to go to sleep.
• Under the weather means sick.
• You can say that again means a person has said something true and you agree.

Many phrasal verbs are idioms since they include a word (often a preposition) whose literal meaning doesn’t apply. Some examples are take off (like an airplane), give out (meaning to distribute), and open up (which means the same thing as open). Sometimes, two different phrasal verbs can mean the same thing even when their prepositions are usually opposites. For example, lock up and lock down can both mean to secure a place by locking the doors and similar actions. Idioms are common in most languages. Over time, native speakers of a language learn many idioms that they use without thinking about them. Because their meanings can’t be figured out from their parts, idioms can be very difficult for nonnative speakers to understand. The adjective form of idiom is idiomatic. For example, break a leg is an idiomatic expression that means “good luck.”

Related Words

See phrase.

Other Word Forms

• idiomatic adjective
• idiomatically adverb
• idiomaticalness noun

Etymology

Origin of idiom

First recorded in 1565–75; from Latin idiōma, from Greek idíōma “peculiarity, specific property,” equivalent to idiō- (variant stem of idioûsthai “to make one's own, appropriate,” verbal derivative of idiós; see idio-) + -ma noun suffix of result

Explanation

An idiom is an expression particular to a specific language or culture. An idiom doesn't make literal sense: Telling someone to "break a leg" isn't wishing them harm; it's wishing them good luck! Idiom comes from the Greek idios, meaning "one's own," "distinctive," or "private." Originally, an idiom was not limited to language; it was any peculiarity or characteristic of an individual person, group, or language. In early linguistics, it referred to any language-specific expressions, even those that were perfectly literal. Over time, the meaning narrowed, and now an idiom is any fixed expression whose meaning cannot be deduced literally, like kick the bucket, meaning "to die." If you're studying a foreign language, idioms are some of the hardest phrases to translate.

Example Sentences

Part of that idiom is the boisterous humour that the Punjab region is known for, portrayed in part through Sajawal's mother, the imposing matriarch Sohni Ammi.

From Barron's • Feb. 21, 2026

They are embracing a Chinese idiom: “breaking the surface of the water.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 23, 2025

It may be the most overused idiom to ever exist, but life is short; the only way to live it is to try our hardest to like it.

From Salon • Oct. 12, 2025

Accent and idiom are firmly in command as she transitions from Southern Gothic to surrealist horror, never losing sight of a character who’s as fragile as she is formidable.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 11, 2025

When a reader is forced to work through one stale idiom after another, she stops converting the language into mental images and slips back into just mouthing the words.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker

Related Words

• dialect
• jargon
• locution
• parlance
• patois
• phrase
• vernacular