English Vocabulary Quiz

Idioms and Phrases

• "Bring something about" means to cause something to happen
• "Come into play" means to become an important factor
• "Fall through the cracks" means to not be noticed or dealt with
• "Commute" means to make the same journey regularly between work and home
• "Demote" means to lower someone in rank or position
• "Encounter" means to meet someone unexpectedly or experience something, especially something unpleasant
• "Epiphany" means a moment when you suddenly feel that you understand, or suddenly become conscious of, something that is very important to you
• "Grasp" means to understand something, especially something difficult
• "Gratify" means to please someone, or to satisfy a wish or need
• "Havoc" means confusion and lack of order, especially causing damage or trouble
• "Mayhem" means a situation in which there is little or no order or control

Idioms with Body Parts

• "Lift a finger" means to help with something
• "Have your hands full" means to be busy or totally occupied with someone or something
• "Burn the candle at both ends" means to overwork or exhaust yourself by doing too many things, especially both late at night and early in the morning
• "Be on my feet" means to be standing up
• "Be at a loose end" means to have some spare time and to feel rather bored because you have nothing particular to do
• "Twiddle your thumbs" means to do little or nothing, to be idle
• "Be up to my eyes" means to be deeply involved in or occupied with something
• "Have enough on my plate" means to be sufficiently busy or preoccupied with work, problems, or difficulties as to be unable or unwilling to deal with anything more
• "Be on the go" means to be constantly in motion, active, working
• "It's been one thing after another" means that many things, typically unfortunate or stressful, are happening in a short time
• "Be rushed off my feet" means to be exceptionally busy, to be made to work very hard and very quickly

Career and Work

• "Make a name for yourself" means to achieve distinction, become prominent or well-known
• "Climb the career ladder" means to advance with a job position from the lower paid to a higher paid one with more responsibility
• "Take on staff" means to hire, engage
• "Rock the boat" means to cause trouble when none is welcome; to disturb a situation that is stable and satisfactory
• "Show someone the ropes" means to explain or demonstrate to someone how to do or perform a job, task, or activity
• "Hold a job down" means to manage to keep a job for a period of time
• "Breathe down someone's neck" means to monitor someone closely, usually in an irritating way
• "Find your feet" means to reach a level of comfort in a new situation
• "Go over someone's head" means to communicate directly with someone in a higher position to try to get what you want
• "Land a job" means to find a job and be hired
• "Stand in for someone" means to do the job that another person was going to do or usually does, because they are ill or away

Deception and Lies

• "Con" means to make someone believe something false, usually so that that person will give you their money or possessions
• "Fibber" means a polite word for someone who tells fibs, or small unimportant lies
• "Porky" means a British word for a lie
• "Sickie" means a day off work someone takes saying that they are ill, especially when they are not actually ill
• "White lie" means a lie that is told in order to be polite or to stop someone from being upset by the truth

Emotions and Feelings

• "To hope against hope" means to hope very strongly when the situation is hopeless
• "Everything's coming up roses" means that everything is really excellent
• "To be full of the joys of spring" means to be happy, enthusiastic, and full of energy
• "To grin from ear to ear" means to look very satisfied and happy
• "To be a happy camper" means to be generally content or satisfied with what is happening in one's life and have no complaints
• "To be happy-go-lucky" means to be cheerful and carefree all the time
• "To jump for joy" means to express happiness through excited movements and gestures
• "To be over the moon" means to be very happy about something
• "To be thrilled to bits" means to be extremely pleased about something
• "To have a whale of a time" means to have a very good time, have an exciting or fun time
• "To walk on air" means to be extremely happy and full of joy, so happy that you feel like you are floating on air

Sports and Competition

• "Pursue" means to try to do or achieve a plan, activity, or situation, usually over a long period of time
• "Be in deep water" means to be in trouble, in a serious situation
• "Be on the ball" means to be aware of things, to be competent; to be knowledgeable
• "Be on the crest of a wave" means to be very successful so that good things happen to you very quickly
• "Be thrown in at the deep end" means to make someone do something difficult, especially a job, without preparing them for it or giving them any help
• "Drop the ball" means to make a mistake, especially by doing something in a stupid or careless way
• "Horses for courses" means it is important to choose a suitable person for a particular activity, because everyone has different skills
• "Jittery" means nervous and anxious; extremely tense
• "Keep your head above water" means to manage to survive, especially financially
• "Level playing field" means a situation that is fair for everyone; everyone has the same chance

Money and Finance

• "Dirt cheap" means very cheap
• "Foot the bill" means to pay for something
• "Go for a song" means to be sold very cheaply
• "Hire purchase" means a method of paying for something in regular instalments until the debt is completely paid
• "Instalment" means a sum of money due as one of several equal payments for something, spread over an agreed period of time
• "Loose change" means the coins that you have in your pocket or purse
• "Pay through the nose" means to pay too much money for something
• "Plastic money" means credit cards and debit cards, used instead of cash
• "Query" means a question, especially one expressing doubt or requesting information
• "Skint" means having no money; broke
• "Splash out on something" means to spend a lot of money on buying things, especially things that are pleasant to have but you don't need
• "Take your pick" means to choose the one(s) you want from the different types available
• "Value for money" means something is worth the money spent on it

Idioms and Phrases

• "Bring something about" means to cause something to happen
• "Come into play" means to become an important factor
• "Fall through the cracks" means to not be noticed or dealt with
• "Commute" means to make the same journey regularly between work and home
• "Demote" means to lower someone in rank or position
• "Encounter" means to meet someone unexpectedly or experience something, especially something unpleasant
• "Epiphany" means a moment when you suddenly feel that you understand, or suddenly become conscious of, something that is very important to you
• "Grasp" means to understand something, especially something difficult
• "Gratify" means to please someone, or to satisfy a wish or need
• "Havoc" means confusion and lack of order, especially causing damage or trouble
• "Mayhem" means a situation in which there is little or no order or control

Idioms with Body Parts

• "Lift a finger" means to help with something
• "Have your hands full" means to be busy or totally occupied with someone or something
• "Burn the candle at both ends" means to overwork or exhaust yourself by doing too many things, especially both late at night and early in the morning
• "Be on my feet" means to be standing up
• "Be at a loose end" means to have some spare time and to feel rather bored because you have nothing particular to do
• "Twiddle your thumbs" means to do little or nothing, to be idle
• "Be up to my eyes" means to be deeply involved in or occupied with something
• "Have enough on my plate" means to be sufficiently busy or preoccupied with work, problems, or difficulties as to be unable or unwilling to deal with anything more
• "Be on the go" means to be constantly in motion, active, working
• "It's been one thing after another" means that many things, typically unfortunate or stressful, are happening in a short time
• "Be rushed off my feet" means to be exceptionally busy, to be made to work very hard and very quickly

Career and Work

• "Make a name for yourself" means to achieve distinction, become prominent or well-known
• "Climb the career ladder" means to advance with a job position from the lower paid to a higher paid one with more responsibility
• "Take on staff" means to hire, engage
• "Rock the boat" means to cause trouble when none is welcome; to disturb a situation that is stable and satisfactory
• "Show someone the ropes" means to explain or demonstrate to someone how to do or perform a job, task, or activity
• "Hold a job down" means to manage to keep a job for a period of time
• "Breathe down someone's neck" means to monitor someone closely, usually in an irritating way
• "Find your feet" means to reach a level of comfort in a new situation
• "Go over someone's head" means to communicate directly with someone in a higher position to try to get what you want
• "Land a job" means to find a job and be hired
• "Stand in for someone" means to do the job that another person was going to do or usually does, because they are ill or away

Deception and Lies

• "Con" means to make someone believe something false, usually so that that person will give you their money or possessions
• "Fibber" means a polite word for someone who tells fibs, or small unimportant lies
• "Porky" means a British word for a lie
• "Sickie" means a day off work someone takes saying that they are ill, especially when they are not actually ill
• "White lie" means a lie that is told in order to be polite or to stop someone from being upset by the truth

Emotions and Feelings

• "To hope against hope" means to hope very strongly when the situation is hopeless
• "Everything's coming up roses" means that everything is really excellent
• "To be full of the joys of spring" means to be happy, enthusiastic, and full of energy
• "To grin from ear to ear" means to look very satisfied and happy
• "To be a happy camper" means to be generally content or satisfied with what is happening in one's life and have no complaints
• "To be happy-go-lucky" means to be cheerful and carefree all the time
• "To jump for joy" means to express happiness through excited movements and gestures
• "To be over the moon" means to be very happy about something
• "To be thrilled to bits" means to be extremely pleased about something
• "To have a whale of a time" means to have a very good time, have an exciting or fun time
• "To walk on air" means to be extremely happy and full of joy, so happy that you feel like you are floating on air

Sports and Competition

• "Pursue" means to try to do or achieve a plan, activity, or situation, usually over a long period of time
• "Be in deep water" means to be in trouble, in a serious situation
• "Be on the ball" means to be aware of things, to be competent; to be knowledgeable
• "Be on the crest of a wave" means to be very successful so that good things happen to you very quickly
• "Be thrown in at the deep end" means to make someone do something difficult, especially a job, without preparing them for it or giving them any help
• "Drop the ball" means to make a mistake, especially by doing something in a stupid or careless way
• "Horses for courses" means it is important to choose a suitable person for a particular activity, because everyone has different skills
• "Jittery" means nervous and anxious; extremely tense
• "Keep your head above water" means to manage to survive, especially financially
• "Level playing field" means a situation that is fair for everyone; everyone has the same chance

Money and Finance

• "Dirt cheap" means very cheap
• "Foot the bill" means to pay for something
• "Go for a song" means to be sold very cheaply
• "Hire purchase" means a method of paying for something in regular instalments until the debt is completely paid
• "Instalment" means a sum of money due as one of several equal payments for something, spread over an agreed period of time
• "Loose change" means the coins that you have in your pocket or purse
• "Pay through the nose" means to pay too much money for something
• "Plastic money" means credit cards and debit cards, used instead of cash
• "Query" means a question, especially one expressing doubt or requesting information
• "Skint" means having no money; broke
• "Splash out on something" means to spend a lot of money on buying things, especially things that are pleasant to have but you don't need
• "Take your pick" means to choose the one(s) you want from the different types available
• "Value for money" means something is worth the money spent on it

Test your knowledge of English vocabulary with this quiz, covering various words and phrases such as 'bring about', 'come into play', 'default', and more.