An idiom is an expression peculiar to a language and not
readily understandable from its grammatical construction or from
the meaning of its parts.  For example, the American English idiom
"put up with," in a sentence such as "I put up with a lot from
him," means tolerate or endure.  Idiom study is an important part
of vocabulary development because much of the living language of
any country is idiomatic.

     Often, American English idioms are created by adding various
prepositions to a basic verb, changing the verb's meaning in many
different ways.  For example, the verb "to drop" means to let
something fall.  But the idiom "drop in" means visit someone
without having received an invitation.  And the idiom "drop out"
means to stop doing what one usually does.  You will find that many
idioms have more than one meaning.  For example, "turn in" means to
give something to someone, as in "I turned in my test paper to the
instructor," and it also means to go to sleep, as in "Because it
was late, I decided to turn in for the night."

     Sometimes a difference in syntax or word order of an idiom
will result in different meanings.  The meaning of the idiom "turn
on," for example, depends a lot on how it is combined with other
words.  

     He turned on me.  (He betrayed me; he attacked me.)
     He turned me on.  (He excited me.) 

     Because idiom usage, like English spelling, is quite
irregular, it can be learned more efficiently by memorization and
frequent practice than by learning rules.

     The following lists will help you master a variety of American
English idioms.  Each list presents one verb with several idioms
that have been derived by adding a preposition or other words to
the verb.




IDIOMS USING "BREAK"
1.   break down
          Meaning: stop working
          Example: I was late to school because my car broke down.

2.   break even
          Meaning: neither gain nor lose
          Example: I was lucky to break even at the casino last weekend.

3.   break in
          Meaning: initiate, train
          Example: The cowboy worked long and hard to break in the new horse.

4.   break off
          Meaning: end abruptly
          Example: She broke off the conversation by hanging up the
telephone.

5.   break out
          Meaning: escape
          Example: Three prisoners broke out of jail.

          Meaning: happen suddenly
          Example: A huge fire broke out on the fifth floor.

6.   break through
          Meaning: penetrate
          Example: The explorer broke through the underbrush to find the
temple.

7.   break up
          Meaning: end a relationship
          Example: Mary broke up with Joe more than a year ago.


IDIOMS USING "BRING"

1.   bring about
          Meaning: cause
          Example: She hopes to bring about a change in his attitude.

2.   bring in
          Meaning: yield, earn
          Example: His investments bring in a profit, and his wife brings in
fifty thousand dollars a year.

3.   bring on
          Meaning: cause
          Example: The assassination brought on the first world war.

          Meaning: cause to come forth, produce
          Example: Bring on the wine!

4.   bring [something] on [oneself]
          Meaning: cause problems for oneself
          Example: By refusing to listen to his teacher, he brought the
failure on himself.



5.   bring out
          Meaning: emphasize
          Example: That blue shirt brings out the color of your eyes.

          Meaning: inspire
          Example: That teacher is able to bring out the best in her
students.

6.   bring to mind
          Meaning: remind someone of
          Example: The smell of baking bread brings my mother's kitchen to
mind.

7.   bring up
          Meaning: raise, rear
          Example: After my parents died, I was brought up by my
grandmother.

          Meaning: introduce
          Example: She brought up the subject of having children.

8.   bring down
          Meaning: cause to fail
          Example: The war brought down the government.


IDIOMS USING "CALL"

1.   call it a day
          Meaning: stop an activity
          Example: The ballet master told the dancers that it was time to call
it a day.

2.   call [something] off
          Meaning: cancel [something]
          Example: The picnic was called off because of the rain.

3.   call on
          Meaning: visit
          Example: We plan to call on the Smith family when we visit Arizona.

          Meaning: select
          Example: The teacher called on Juan for an answer to her question.

4.   call it quits
          Meaning: stop an activity, end a relationship
          Example: Brenda and Eddie called it quits before their second
anniversary.

5.   call up
          Meaning: telephone
          Example: A salesman called me up this morning.

          Meaning: induct, summon
          Example: The army called up twenty men from my home town.

6.   call the roll
          Meaning: take attendance
          Example: The professor stopped calling the roll after two weeks of
class.

7.   call out
          Meaning: speak loudly
          Example: Call out your name when I point at you.

          Meaning: challenge
          Example: He called her out on her racist remark.



IDIOMS USING "COME"

1.   come about
          Meaning: happen
          Example: The event you were waiting for has come about.

2.   come across
          Meaning: find unexpectedly
          Example: Reading a book I came across a photo of my hometown. 

          Meaning: provide services on demand
          Example: She pressured her manager, but he didn't come across with
her raise.

3.   come across as
          Meaning: give the impression of
          Example: He comes across as a reasonable man, but in fact, he is
crazy.

4.   come down with [an illness]
          Meaning: get [an illness]
          Example: I don't feel well; I think I'm coming down with the flu.

5.   come in handy
          Meaning: prove useful
          Example: I kept batteries in my flashlight because I know it could
come in
                   handy in an emergency.

6.   come out
          Meaning: be published, appear
          Example: The new issue of the magazine came out last week.

          Meaning: reveal one's homosexuality
          Example: His parents were shocked when he came out.

          Meaning: emerge
          Example: From our discussion it came out that we all disagreed on
every point.



7.   come through
          Meaning: survive
          Example: She came through her illness at last.

8.   come through for
          Meaning: support through difficulty
          Example: He really came through for me when my daughter was in the
hospital.

9.   come up
          Meaning: be mentioned
          Example: We were talking about students, and your name came up.

          Meaning: happen
          Example: I didn't know what to do because the situation had never
come up before.

IDIOMS USING "DO"

1.   do away with
          Meaning: dispose of, eliminate, abolish
          Example: To do away with social injustice was her goal.

          Meaning: kill
          Example: The villain decided to do away with his mother.

2.   do over
          Meaning: repeat
          Example: The only way to correct the mistakes was to do the
assignment over.

          Meaning: redecorate, refurbish
          Example: It was very frustrating to wait six months to do my
apartment over.

3.   do without
          Meaning: give up, forego
          Example: When my father lost his job, we had to do without many
luxuries.

4.   have nothing to do with
          Meaning: shun, avoid
          Example: The new neighbors are so unfriendly that they will have
nothing to do with us.

5.   do in
          Meaning: tire, exhaust
          Example: After running five miles without stopping, I was done in.

          Meaning: kill
          Example: I was so angry that I wanted to do him in, but I didn't.

IDIOMS USING "GET"

1.   get ahead
          Meaning: advance, prosper, succeed
          Example: He studied hard in order to get ahead.

2.   get over
          Meaning: overcome, recover
          Example: She got over her cold after two weeks.

3.   get around
          Meaning: travel widely, frequently
          Example: They get around a lot.

          Meaning: avoid, evade
          Example: They got around the high prices at the market by growing
their own vegetables.

4.   get hold of (get ahold of)
          Meaning: contact
          Example: I got hold of him by telephone.

5.   get out of
          Meaning: remove from
          Example: Get him out of here.

6.   get up
          Meaning: arise from a sitting or lying position
          Example: I get up every day at seven.

7.   get after
          Meaning: criticize
          Example: He will get after you if you don't do your work well.

8.   get by
          Meaning: pass
          Example: She was so pregnant that I couldn't get by her in the hall.

          Meaning: survive
          Example: Times are hard, but we will get by somehow.

IDIOMS USING "GIVE"

1.   give and take
          Meaning: compromise
          Example: We hope there will be some give and take at the
conference table.

2.   give in
          Meaning: yield, accept a position or viewpoint one had opposed
          Example: We expected the other side to give in.

3.   give out
          Meaning: cease functioning because of age or deterioration
          Example: We were afraid that our tires would give out during the
trip.

4.   give way
          Meaning: collapse
          Example: The town was flooded when the dam gave way.

          Meaning: yield
          Example: The boss refused to give way to the workers.

5.   give up
          Meaning: surrender
          Example: The soldiers gave up when they knew they were beaten.

          Meaning: stop
          Example: The dancers would not give up practicing even though they
were exhausted.

6.   given to
          Meaning: in the habit of
          Example: Because he was given to fast driving, his license was
soon suspended.


IDIOMS USING "KEEP"

1.   keep house
          Meaning: manage a home
          Example: He found it hard to keep house when his wife left him.

2.   keep out of
          Meaning: stay away from
          Example: Last year he was warned several times to keep out of
trouble.

3.   keep [one's] word
          Meaning: fulfill a promise
          Example: John has lied to me so often that I will never trust him to
keep his word.

4.   keep track of
          Meaning: stay in touch with, find the whereabouts of
          Example: Unfortunately, I can never keep track of my glasses.

5.   keep up 
          Meaning: maintain, preserve
          Example: We can no longer afford to keep up the stables and the
formal garden.

6.   keep up with
          Meaning: stay abreast of
          Example: The third runner kept up with the second one.

7.   keep still
          Meaning: be quiet
          Example: He told his little girl to keep still during the
performance.


IDIOMS USING "LET"

1.   let alone
          Meaning: stop disturbing
          Example: Tell Charles to let that boy alone.

2.   let down
          Meaning: disappoint, fail
          Example: Mrs. Smith is so reliable that I know she will never let me
down.

3.   let go
          Meaning: release
          Example: The police told the terrorist to let the hostages go.

4.   let off
          Meaning: permit to leave
          Example: Ask the bus driver to let you off at Fifth Avenue.

          Meaning: to excuse
          Example: They caught me with the stolen items, but the judge let me
off.

5.   let pass
          Meaning: overlook, disregard
          Example: I will let your remarks pass.

6.   let up
          Meaning: pause, decrease in intensity
          Example: The storm did not let up until the following day.

7.   let out
          Meaning: lengthen, expand
          Example: He had gotten taller and fatter, so I had to let out his
pants.



IDIOMS USING "LOOK"

1.   look after
          Meaning: take care of
          Example: Someone has to look after the children while we are away.

2.   look forward to
          Meaning: anticipate with pleasure
          Example: I am really looking forward to meeting you!

3.   look into
          Meaning: investigate
          Example: Do you want to ask the police to look into the
disappearance of your jewelry?

4.   look like
          Meaning: resemble
          Example: My dog looks like Lassie.

          Meaning: seem possible or probable
          Example: It looks like we won't be going on vacation this year.

5.   look out for
          Meaning: be careful of
          Example: When you go on the hike, look out for bears.

          Meaning: be responsible for, tend
          Example: Her big brother looked out for her when she started
school.

6.   look up to
          Meaning: admire
          Example: Her students really look up to her.

7.   look over
          Meaning: examine, inspect
          Example: Look over the papers before you sign them.



IDIOMS USING "MAKE"

1.   make up
          Meaning: invent
          Example: We believed his story, but it turned out that he had made
the whole thing up.

          Meaning: reconcile
          Example: A week later, he tried to make up with his girlfriend by
buying her flowers.

2.   make a living
          Meaning: earn money, support oneself
          Example: While I was a student, I made a living by babysitting.

3.   make headway
          Meaning: progress
          Example: There is less traffic in the evenings, so we should make
better headway later.

4.   make up one's mind
          Meaning: decide
          Example: I like both choices, so I can't make up my mind.

5.   make room for
          Meaning: clear a space for
          Example: By pushing our chairs closer together, we were able
                   to make room for another person at our table.

6.   make sure
          Meaning: ascertain
          Example: Make sure you have your books with you before you leave.

7.   make good
          Meaning: succeed
          Example: When the movie star was still a little girl, she told her
parents that she would make good someday.

8.   make good time
          Meaning: get somewhere quickly
          Example: The trip only took us an hour because we made good time.

9.   make out
          Meaning: succeed
          Example: I made out pretty well on that test.

          Meaning: perceive, read
          Example: I can't make out the signature on this document.

          Meaning: engage in kissing and caressing
          Example: The teenagers were making out in the bushes during the
party.

10.  make do with [something]
          Meaning: accept a substitute 
          Example: I wanted steak, but I had to make do with peanut butter.

IDIOMS USING "PUT"

1.   put off
          Meaning: postpone, delay
          Example: George put off writing his paper for class until the night
before it was due.

2.   put on
          Meaning: dress oneself in
          Example: Put on your raincoat for the weather looks bad.

          Meaning: fool [someone]
          Example: He said he was a famous actor, but he was just putting us
on.

3.   put out
          Meaning: annoyed, irritated
          Example: Because he lost the election, the candidate was put out
at his staff.
     
          Meaning: have sex with someone
          Example: She thought she would be more popular if she put out on
the first date.

4.   put something over on [someone]
          Meaning: trick [someone]
          Example: The dishonest merchant tried to put something over on us,
but we didn't buy his goods.

5.   put up a fight
          Meaning: resist
          Example: They may force me to leave this school, but I will put up
a fight before I go.

6.   put across
          Meaning: present or deliver convincingly
          Example: Jennifer got the job because she was able to put her
ideas across so convincingly.

7.   put down
          Meaning: insult, degrade
          Example: Edward was angry because his boss continued to put him
down.

8.   put away
          Meaning: store in the proper place
          Example: Adrienne's father told her to put her toys away.

IDIOMS USING "RUN"

1.   run up
          Meaning: accumulate
          Example: Alex ran up a large bill at the bar.

2.   run across
          Meaning: encounter, meet by chance
          Example: In London, we unexpectedly ran across our friends Beth
and Hugh.

3.   run out of
          Meaning: use entirely
          Example: She came home because she ran out of money.

4.   run an errand
          Meaning: perform a task involving movement or travel
          Example: I was late because I had to run errands.

5.   run low
          Meaning: become scarce in quantity or supply
          Example: As we crossed the desert, our water began to run low.

6.   run up against
          Meaning: encounter unfavorably
          Example: We ran up against a problem with the telephone company.

7.   run for 
          Meaning: campaign for
          Example: Bill Clinton ran for governor successfully before he ran
for President.

8.   run along
          Meaning: go
          Example: I've got to run along now.

IDIOMS USING "TAKE"

1.   take a break
          Meaning: stop an activity briefly, rest
          Example: I need to take a break between classes.

2.   take care of
          Meaning: be responsible for, handle
          Example: Does this office take care of financial problems?

          Meaning: nurse, tend
          Example: My mother always took care of me when I was sick.

3.   take charge of
          Meaning: be responsible for, direct
          Example: Sandra decided to take charge of the campaign.

4.   take [something or someone] for granted
          Meaning: assume
          Example: He took it for granted that I would have enough money to
pay the bill.

5.   take it easy
          Meaning: rest, relax
          Example: Peter has decided to take it easy by not working for the
rest of the summer.

6.   take [something] out of
          Meaning: remove from
          Example: My supervisor asked me to take all the old files out of the
file cabinet.

7.   take [someone] out
          Meaning: date [someone]
          Example: The handsome stranger wants to take Judy out on
Saturday night.

8.   take up
          Meaning: begin an activity
          Example: Would you like to take up a new hobby?

          Meaning: use, consume
          Example: I'm sorry to take up so much of your time.

9.   take over
          Meaning: gain control of
          Example: The angry workers took over the boss's office.

10.  take [something] back
          Meaning: retract
          Example: I take back all the nasty things I have ever said about
you.