We have several free ESL idioms lessons below, each with explanations, sample sentences, and review exercises.
If you find these ESL idioms lessons useful, consider purchasing our book Speak Like a Native! – Idioms, which features all of the ESL idioms lessons on this page, plus several more, as well as bonus review lessons.
Give advice using idioms! All of the ESL idioms lessons below include several idioms with explanations, along with a review exercise in which students use the idioms to give advice and answers to people with vexing situations.
Idioms – A (definitions and review) – add fuel to the fire; add insult to injury; absence makes the heart grow fonder; a penny saved is a penny earned; a picture is worth a thousand words; actions speak louder than words; all in your head; around the clock; asleep at the wheel; at the top of your lungs.
Idioms – B (definitions and review)– back to square one; bark up the wrong tree; be careful what you wish for; beggars can’t be choosers; better late than never; better safe than sorry; bite your tongue; break a leg!
Idioms – C (definitions and review) – cat got your tongue?; catch-22; change of heart; cheat shot; on cloud nine; get cold feet; come clean; curiosity killed the cat.
Idioms – D (definitions and review) – dead to the world; deer in headlights; dime a dozen; don’t cry over spilled milk; don’t give up your day job; don’t hold your breath; don’t judge a book by its cover; drive someone up the wall.
Idioms – E (definitions and review) – each his own; early bird gets the worm; easier said than done; easy come, easy go; every cloud has a silver lining; eyes are bigger than one’s stomach.
ESL Idioms Worksheet: Review of idioms with the letters A-B-C-D-E – Read each sentence and fill in the blanks to complete each idiom.
Idioms – F (definitions and review) – face only a mother could love; failure is the mother of success; few and far between; first come, first served; for kicks; from rags to riches; full of hot air
Idioms – G (definitions and review) – game on!; get something off your chest; give someone a hand; give someone a piece of your mind; grain of salt; Greek to me; grin and bear it.
Idioms – H (printable handout and worksheet) – have a ball / have a blast; head over heels in love; here today, gone tomorrow; hindsight is 20/20; home sweet home; haste makes waste
Idioms – I (definitions and review) – if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it; in a pickle / in a jam / in a fix; in one ear and out the other; in the driver’s seat; in the short run / in the long run; in over your head; it ain’t over till the fat lady sings
Idioms – J (definitions and review) – jog my memory; jump down someone’s throat; jump the gun; just around the corner; just off the boat; just what the doctor ordered
ESL Idioms Worksheet: Review of idioms with the letters A to J – Find idioms with similar meanings as the words in the blanks
Idioms – K (definitions and review) – keep in touch; keep your chin up; keep your fingers crossed / cross your fingers; keep your shirt on; kill two birds with one stone; knock ’em dead; knock on wood
Idioms – L (definitions and review) – laughter is the best medicine; learn the ropes; let sleeping dogs lie; left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing; let the cat out of the bag; let your hair down; light at the end of the tunnel.
Idioms – M (definitions and review) – make a killing; man’s best friend; meet you halfway; mind your own business; money doesn’t grow on trees; music to my ears; my hands are tied