Idioms and Phrasal Verbs for IELTS

Idioms for IELTS Vocabulary: Speak Like a NativeIdiomatic expressions add flair to your language and convey cultural fluency. Here are some idioms to enrich your IELTS vocabulary:

Idiom	Meaning	Example Sentence
Out of the blue	Something that happened unexpectedly	Yesterday, out of the blue, he asked me to marry him!
In the red	To owe money, to not have money	Sorry, I can’t afford it, I’m in the red.
Day and night	Continually working without stopping	I was studying day and night for my IELTS test.
Drop out	To leave without finishing	She dropped out of the course because it was too hard.
Learn by heart	To memorise	I learned all my idioms by heart.
Bookworm	Someone who reads a lot	When I was younger, I was a bookworm, I just loved reading.
A piece of cake	Very easy	The math exam was a piece of cake for him.
Break a leg	Good luck	Break a leg in your performance tomorrow!
Piece of advice	A helpful suggestion	Can I give you a piece of advice?
Don’t cry over spilled milk	Don’t worry about something that has happened	Yes, I made a mistake, but let’s not cry over spilled milk.
In the blink of an eye	Very quickly	The thief disappeared in the blink of an eye.
A penny for your thoughts	Asking someone what they are thinking	You seem lost in thought – a penny for your thoughts?
Catch someone red-handed	Catch someone in the act of doing something wrong	The police caught the thief red-handed.
Cross your fingers	Hope for good luck	I’m crossing my fingers for a positive outcome.
Bury the hatchet	Make peace with someone	After their argument, they decided to bury the hatchet and move on.
Go the extra mile	Make additional effort	She always goes the extra mile to help her colleagues.
Kill two birds with one stone	Accomplish two things with a single action	By visiting my friend in the city, I can kill two birds with one stone – see the sights and catch up with her.
To show promise	To indicate possible success	The new vaccine is showing promise.
Under the weather	Feeling unwell	I’m feeling a bit under the weather. I hope I don’t have COVID.

Phrasal Verbs: Unraveling Language Complexity

A phrasal verb is a type of verb that consists of two or more words: a main verb combined with one or more particles (prepositions or adverbs). The combination of these words creates a new meaning that is different from the individual meanings of the verb and the particles.

Below is a list of commonly used phrasal verbs:

PHRASAL VERB	Meaning	EXAMPLE SENTENCE
Carry out	To complete or perform a task	The researchers will carry out the experiment.
Get along	To have a good relationship with someone	I get along well with my colleagues at work.
Look after	To take care of or be responsible for something	Can you look after my dog while I’m away?
Take off	To remove or become airborne	The plane will take off in an hour.
Give up	To stop doing something, to quit	He decided to give up smoking for his health.
Turn on	To activate or start something	Can you turn on the lights, please?
Put off	To postpone or delay something	They put off the meeting until next week.
Get over	To recover from an illness or emotional setback	It took her some time to get over the breakup.
Bring in	To introduce or generate income	The company plans to bring in new technology.
Set up	To establish or arrange something	We need to set up a meeting with the client.
Call off	To cancel or terminate something	They had to call off the event due to bad weather.
Run into	To encounter someone unexpectedly	I ran into an old classmate at the supermarket.
Get in	To enter or arrive at a place	What time does your flight get in?
Bring about	To cause or make something happen	The new policy will bring about significant changes.
Take on	To accept a responsibility or challenge	He decided to take on the project despite its complexity.
Put up with	To tolerate or endure something	I can’t put up with the noise from the construction site.
Find out	To discover or learn something	I need to find out the time of the meeting.
Give back	To return something that was borrowed or taken	Can you give back my pen when you’re done using it?
Look into	To investigate or examine something	The authorities will look into the matter.
Get out	To leave or exit from a place	Let’s get out of here before it starts raining.
Show up	To arrive or appear at a place or event	She didn’t show up for the meeting.
Carry on	To continue doing something	Despite the difficulties, they decided to carry on.
Make out	To understand or perceive something	It’s hard to make out what he’s saying from a distance.
Stand for	To represent or symbolize something	The initials NASA stand for National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Break up	To end a relationship or disperse	The initials NASA stand for National Aeronautics and Space Administration.