What is an Idiom?

Idioms occur in all languages on every continent throughout the world. They are known as a form of formulaic language. This type of language is not meant to be taken literally in most cases. These phrases are meant to have a figurative meaning that paints a picture in someone’s mind as a comparison for what is literally implied by the terminology being used. Most idioms come in the form of phrases known as idiomatic phrases. Idioms are used every day in all types of conversations and discussions about many topics. They most often appear in informal conversations, but can also appear in formal discussions as well.

Idiom Definition

An idiom is a phrase or an expression that has a figurative, or sometimes literal meaning. An idiom’s figurative meaning is different from the literal meaning.

Idioms are things that people say or write that when taken literally, don’t make sense. This can be quite confusing, but essentially they are ‘sayings’ or ‘phrases’ that are understood by English speakers in terms of their intended meaning, but when taken at face value the words together make little or no sense at all. An example might be somebody saying they were “Over the moon” because of something good happening in their lives. Taking that literally would leave somebody feeling quite confused, but most people understand that the individual is trying to say that they are really happy about something. There are many examples of idioms in English and we’ll take a look at a few more later, but why do we use them to begin with?