This page gathers the 4,686 dictionary entries of which at least one sense is labelled “Idiomatic” by Wiktionary. The definition shown is that sense; each word leads to its full entry. Page 1 of 47: from “-en” to “amber light”.
- -en suffix Denotes the past participle form when attached to a verb.
- -er suffix Suffix used to form the plural of a small number of English nouns.
- -es suffix Possessive marker; see -s, -'s.
- -ess suffix Used to form nouns from adjectives.
- -ile suffix Tending to, or capable of.
- -ine suffix Of or pertaining to.
- -ing suffix Forming derivative nouns (originally masculine), with the sense ‘son of, belonging to’, as in placenames, patronymics or diminutives; -ite.
- -ion suffix An action or process, or the result of an action or process.
- -iour suffix Suffix added to verbs to form nouns.
- -ish suffix An ending found on some verbs; see usage notes.
- -k suffix A suffix found in verbs of Middle English, Old English, usually with an intensive or frequentative effect.
- -ling suffix An adverbial suffix denoting manner, direction, or position.
- -meal suffix Used to denote a fixed number, measure, or amount at a time.
- -t suffix Used to form verbs from nouns or adjectives (compare -ate, -ize), frequently having a causative force, or modified from an existing verb…
- -th suffix Used to form nouns from verbs of action.
- -tion suffix Used to form nouns meaning "the action of (a verb)" or "the result of (a verb)". Words ending in this suffix are almost always derived from…
- -ure suffix A process; a condition; a result of an action.
- -yer suffix Agent suffix, equivalent to -er, appended to some nouns (especially those ending in the letter "w" or "v").
- 110 proof adj Stronger than strong.
- 11th commandment noun A well-known convention (often the most well-known of a certain field) which supposedly can not or should not be broken.
- 15 minutes of fame noun A very short time in the spotlight or brief flurry with fame, after which the person or subject involved is quickly forgotten.
- 23 skidoo phrase To leave, particularly quickly or at an advantageous time.
- 800-pound gorilla noun An entity that dominates its environment.
- a day late and a dollar short adj Too late and too feeble to achieve the desired effect.
- a dime a dozen adj So common as to be practically or almost worthless.
- a Roland for an Oliver noun Equal measure; measure for measure; adequate response.
- a week from next Tuesday phrase Some unspecified time in the future.
- a year and a day noun A long time.
- a- prefix Forming verbs with the sense away, up, on, out.
- ab- prefix From.
- about time adv Far past the desired time.
- about to phrase Indicates something that will happen very soon; indicates action that is imminent; ready to; went to
- above and beyond prep Further than; doing more than is expected or required.
- above board prep_phrase Openly, without deceit.
- above par prep_phrase Better than the average or normal standard.
- above the curve prep_phrase With above average innovative performance or quality, especially a trailblazer developing advances before competitors.
- above water prep_phrase Out of difficulty, especially financially.
- accident of birth noun A fact, situation, or personal characteristic, which may be desirable or undesirable, resulting from the circumstances into which a person…
- acknowledge the corn verb To admit to the truth of the point at issue or to a mistake; to cop a plea; or perhaps to admit to a small error but not a larger one.
- acquired taste noun Something that is appreciated only after having initially been regarded as unappealing or unpleasant; a person who is regarded as difficult…
- across the board prep_phrase Pertaining to all categories or things.
- act of Congress noun An authorization that is extremely difficult to obtain, especially in a timely fashion.
- act one's age verb To behave in a manner appropriate to one's age.
- act out verb To perform a scene from a play, a charade or an exercise.
- act up verb To misbehave; to cause trouble.
- ad- prefix Doing, enacting, forming a verb.
- add fuel to the fire verb To worsen a conflict between people; to inflame an already tense situation.
- add up verb To make sense; to be reasonable or consistent.
- adrenaline rush noun An event or activity which causes such a state.
- adversarial collaboration noun Any of a class of study designs in which scientists with conflicting theories work together with others who are neutral or agnostic about…
- affair partner noun A person with whom one is having an extramarital or unfaithful relationship; the third party in an affair.
- after all prep_phrase anyway, in any case; indicates a statement is true regardless of other considerations; used to reinforce or explain a point.
- after one's own heart prep_phrase Of a person: having the same disposition, feelings, or opinions as oneself.
- after the Lord Mayor's show prep_phrase Said of a disappointing or mundane event occurring straight after an exciting, magnificent, or triumphal event.
- after- prefix With contrary, subordinate, or remote effect, denoting hindrance, setback, inferiority, etc.
- against the grain prep_phrase Contrary to what is expected; especially, of behavior different from what society expects.
- against the law prep_phrase Forbidden by law.
- agree to disagree verb To accept each other's opinions and cease arguing; to peacefully acknowledge that an agreement will not be reached.
- aha moment noun The moment or instant at which the solution to a problem, or some other significant realization, becomes clear.
- ahead of the curve prep_phrase Changing before competitors.
- aim at verb To create or design for a particular audience.
- air out verb To expose to air; to leave open or spread out, as to allow odor or moisture to dissipate.
- air sandwich noun A strategy that has high-level direction and low-level operations, but little in the middle.
- airheaded adj Silly; foolish.
- alarums and excursions noun Any frantic activity.
- all along adv For the entire time; always.
- all around adj Able to do many or all things well.
- all at once adv Unexpectedly; without warning; all of a sudden.
- all bark and no bite adj Full of big talk but lacking action, power, or substance; pretentious.
- all bets are off phrase Indicates that a future event appears uncertain, especially one that before seemed more certain, and where any prior agreements are no…
- all dressed up and nowhere to go adj Elaborately attired or otherwise fully prepared for an anticipated situation or activity which, nevertheless, fails to occur.
- all ears adj Listening intently; fully focused.
- all eyes adj Watching alertly or attentively.
- all fur coat and no knickers adj Having a superficially positive appearance that is belied by the reality, e.g., superficially elegant and beautiful but actually common.
- all good phrase It's all good.
- all heart adj Motivated by positive emotions, especially as productive of exceptionally generous or kind behavior.
- all holiday noun A saying signifying that the business or person spoken of or alluded to is finished, i.e. that it has no future.
- all in the family prep_phrase Of a secret, trait, business, or a tradition that is kept within a family, shared among family members, and not disclosed to those outside…
- all one's born days noun One's whole life.
- all out adv With maximum effort.
- all over adv Over an entire extent.
- all over bar the shouting phrase Of an activity where the result is known, but may be subject to change, due to it not being officially finished or announced.
- all over the map prep_phrase Widely scattered or distributed; numerous and differing greatly.
- all over the place prep_phrase In multiple directions or locations, often haphazardly; everywhere.
- all rights reserved phrase The copyright holder of a creative work reserves all copyright-related rights, typically including the right to publish the work, to make…
- all set adj Ready, prepared, equipped.
- all sixes and nines prep_phrase In a state of confusion.
- all that adv Very.
- all the gear and no idea adj Having high-quality, expensive equipment for a risky or difficult activity, without any of the requisite knowledge.
- all the same adv Anyway; nevertheless; nonetheless.
- all there adj Mentally competent; not absent-minded or insane.
- all things considered adv Generally speaking; in terms of the big picture.
- all things to all people noun Someone or something that entirely satisfies the expectations of everyone, no matter how diverse and conflicting those expectations may be.
- all to smash adv Ruined; bankrupt.
- all very well adj All right to a certain extent, but problematic beyond that, or for other people.
- all wet adj Utterly incorrect; erroneous; uninformed.
- along the lines of prep Similar to, but not exactly equal.
- amateur hour noun A situation or activity in which the participants show a lack of skill, sound judgment, or professionalism.
- amber gambler noun A driver of a road vehicle who accelerates when the traffic lights change from green to amber (instead of stopping, as required by law)…
- amber light noun Hesitance to proceed; limited approval or permission to proceed.