IELTS speaking is one of the most overwhelming sections of the entire test. Thus, acing this becomes challenging for students. However, if you are aware of the phrases, vocabulary, and idioms for IELTS speaking, then you can improve your communication skills. Thus, in this write-up, you will be learning everything about idioms to ensure you are well-prepared for the test and crack it on your first attempt. So hop on to the next segment to learn the meaning of idioms before exploring the common ones to use in your test.
What Is an Idiom?
Idioms are expressions that do not mean what they say. In other words, these are a phrases or expressions with a figurative or non-literal meaning. Every language has its unique way of expressing things, feelings or thoughts. However, the meaning of Idioms can be understood by its cultural context. So, if you have an understanding of idioms, then you will be able to learn the language easily and communicate with native speakers.
Furthermore, the idioms can reflect historical events, traditions, or shared experiences within a community. This makes them an important aspect of communication in any particular language. As idioms are not always natural, they can be challenging for learners. But in the upcoming segment, we have provided some of the trending or commonly used idioms for speaking section along with meaning and examples to ease your task.
List of Trending Idioms for IELTS Speaking
Idioms are an important part of everyday conversation in the English language. As they can make your speaking sound more natural as a native speaker. However, you need to use it properly to clearly communicate and score well in the IELTS test. Thus, we have handpicked a few idioms for IELTS with their meaning and examples in the table below:
| Idiom | Meaning | Example |
| Out of the blue | Something that happened unexpectedly | She called me out of the blue after five years of no contact. |
| Give someone the green light | To give permission | The manager gave us the green light to start the project. |
| Green with envy | To be jealous | She was green with envy when she saw her friend’s new car. |
| Day and night | Continually working without stopping | He worked day and night to finish his book. |
| Learn by heart | To memorise | We had to learn the poem by heart for the recital. |
| Pass with flying colours | To pass a test with a high grade | She studied hard and passed the exam with flying colors. |
| Child’s play | Very easy to do | This math problem is a piece of cake, very easy to do. |
| To follow in someone’s footsteps | To achieve the same things that someone else did | He wants to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a doctor. |
| Break a leg | To wish someone good luck | Before the competition, her coach said, “Break a leg!” to wish her good luck. |
| Better late than never | It’s better to do something late than not to try it | He finally finished his assignment; better late than never. |
| Burn the Midnight Oil | To work late into the night or to work hard on something. | She burned the midnight oil to meet the deadline. |
| Cry Over Spilt Milk | To waste time feeling upset about something that has already happened and cannot be changed. | There’s no use crying over spilt milk; let’s move on. |
| Go the Extra Mile | To make more effort than is expected or required. | He always goes the extra mile to help his customers. |
| Beat around the bush | Avoid saying what you mean, usually because it is uncomfortable | Stop beating around the bush and tell me what happened. |
| Break the ice | Make people feel more comfortable | She had to bite the bullet and apologize for her mistake. |
| Bite the bullet | To get something over with because it is inevitable | She had to bite the bullet and apologize for her mistake. |
| Cut somebody some slack | Doing something poorly in order to save time or money | He was new at the job, so we cut him some slack. |
| Hang in there | Don’t give up | The training is tough, but hang in there, it’ll be worth it. |
| Let someone off the hook | To not hold someone responsible for something | The teacher let him off the hook for forgetting his homework. |
| On thin ice | In a risky situation | After missing another deadline, he was on thin ice with his boss. |
These were some of the trending IELTS idioms to use and score well. However, if you want to check where you stand with your practice in this section, taking the IELTS speaking mock test is the ideal thing. Moreover, if you are still sceptical about why using idioms is recommended, read the upcoming segment.
Why Use Idioms for the IELTS Speaking Section?
Using correct IELTS idioms will help you showcase a wider range of vocabulary in the language. It will also help you to sound more native and have command over the language. Here are some of the perks of using them in your conversations:
Ø Increases fluency to make you sound more natural and not robotic.
Ø Demonstrates cultural awareness and familiarity with the English language.
Ø It showcases lexical resources, which are key factors for scoring in IELTS.
Ø Makes responses engaging and interesting.
Ø Boosts expressiveness to convey emotions and feelings.
These were a few pointers as to why you must be aware of the idioms for the IELTS exam. Now, you must also know how to use them correctly and effectively. So, go through the upcoming segment to understand the same.
Tips to Practice Idioms for IELTS Speaking
To excel in IELTS speaking section, using wider range of idioms at the correct place is crucial. Thus, here are the tactics to handle them and score well in this section.
- Learn idioms from different resources, such as real-life examples, dialogues, podcasts, stories and more.
- Use them in daily conversations to have your hands on them.
- Create example sentences to revise them at the end before the test.
- Regularly take IELTS practice test online to evaluate your performance and improve on your weaker areas.
- Group idioms by themes, such as emotions, success, and weather, to remember them easily.
- Answer common IELTS Speaking questions while using idioms to simulate test conditions.
- Listening to your recordings can help you identify areas for improvement.
- Avoid using too many idioms as they sound unnatural, so apply them sparingly and appropriately.
Conclusion
Idioms add colours to any conversation. So, knowing and using them in the IELTS exam can boost your overall scores. Hence, this write-up is a complete guide for you to explore everything about the idioms for IELTS speaking. However, if you are sceptical about your preparations or feel under-confident, then taking the IELTS reading practice test along with speaking, listening and writing can help you to ace the test. Through this, you can know where you stand and how much practice you still need. You can also consult experts in the field to ease the entire process.
