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 6 of 47: from “breathe one's last” to “bust a nut”.
- breathe one's last verb To die.
- bred-in-the-bone adj Firmly established or instilled; deep-seated.
- bridge-builder noun A person who establishes friendly relations between parties.
- bridge-building adj Establishing communication, fostering understanding, and improving relationships between hostile or vastly different people, cultures, or…
- bridge-burning adj That burns bridges.
- bright lights noun The glamour and glitz of a place, especially a big city.
- bright young thing noun One who is youthful, clever, eager, and high-spirited in manner and attractive in appearance.
- bright-line rule noun A clear-cut rule, so that it is easy to make a decision.
- brightness noun Intelligence, cleverness.
- bring a knife to a gunfight verb To enter into a confrontation or other challenging situation without being adequately equipped or prepared.
- bring back to life verb To return someone to a state of consciousness or living after a state of unconsciousness, death or near-death.
- bring forward verb To call up for consideration.
- bring home verb To earn (money).
- bring home the bacon verb To have employment which provides remuneration to satisfy the basic needs of oneself and one's family.
- bring it weak verb To fail to accomplish an accomplishable task or to make an attempt at less than maximum effort; to "half-ass" or "fake the funk".
- bring on verb To cause.
- bring one's own hide to market verb To create one's own fate, as a result of one's chosen character and actions; to experience the appropriate consequences of one's behavior.
- bring owls to Athens verb To undertake a pointless venture, one that is redundant, unnecessary, superfluous, or highly uneconomical.
- bring round verb To resuscitate; to cause to regain consciousness.
- bring to bear verb To apply; to employ something to achieve an intended effect.
- bring to heel verb To compel someone to obey; to force someone into a submissive condition.
- bring together verb To cause people to do something together; to bring about togetherness.
- broad brush adj General and sweeping in scope but lacking detail.
- broad in the beam adj Wide across the hips, with large buttocks.
- broad shoulders noun the ability to take criticism, or accept responsibility.
- broad strokes noun Major features or key points; outline.
- broken man noun A man who has suffered significant and enduring emotional pain as a result of a highly unpleasant or traumatic event.
- broken record noun Someone or something that constantly repeats itself, causing annoyance.
- brokenhearted adj Grieved and disappointed, especially by the loss of a beloved person or thing, such as the end of a romantic relationship.
- Bronx cheer noun Synonym of raspberry (“a sound intended to resemble flatulence made by blowing air out of the mouth while the tongue is protruding from and…
- brown bag noun A short presentation or seminar on a given subject, especially one given at lunchtime.
- brown bread adj Dead.
- brown noser noun One who brownnoses (flatters or humors somebody in an obsequious manner for personal gain); one who sucks up; a bootlicker, dickrider…
- brown power noun The production of electricity made from conventional sources, such as coal, oil, natural gas and nuclear power.
- Brownian motion noun A state of chaos or disarray.
- brush down verb To straighten up one's clothes and to tidy up one's appearance.
- brush off verb To disregard (something), to dismiss or ignore (someone), as unimportant.
- brush up verb To review; to improve an existing but rusty or underdeveloped skill.
- buck fever noun Excitement and nervousness felt by a new hunter upon seeing game.
- buck in verb To align or sight an instrument (such as a theodolite or level) precisely between two marks or points for accurate measurement.
- buck off verb Of a horse or other animal, to rear up on its hind legs in order to throw off or dislodge its rider.
- buck out verb To murder (someone).
- buck the trend verb To go against the norm or the current stand of the main population; have a differing opinion from the majority.
- buck up intj Cheer up; take courage; take heart.
- buck-passing noun Blameshifting; the act of absolving oneself of responsibility or concern for a given matter by claiming to lack authority or jurisdiction.
- bucket list noun A list of tasks arising during a meeting that are put aside to be dealt with later.
- buckle down verb To apply oneself to study, or a task or work; to focus on or take a serious attitude towards something; to put forth the needed effort.
- buckle to verb Synonym of buckle down (“to apply oneself to study, or a task or work; to focus on or take a serious attitude towards something; to put…
- buckle up verb To fasten one's seat belt or safety belt.
- Buckley's and none noun A supposed two chances (probabilities), being Buckley's chance (meaning a very small chance) or no chance at all.
- buff up verb To improve.
- bug off intj Used to tell somebody to leave one alone.
- bugger off intj Go away.
- Buggins's turn noun A humorous, disparaging term for the appointment of a person by rotation or promotion, on the basis of length of service (it being that…
- build a better mousetrap verb To create a new product, method, or idea that is better than an existing version of something already common or widely used.
- build castles in the air verb To have any desire, idea, or plan that is unlikely to be realized; to imagine visionary projects or schemes; to have an idle fancy or a…
- build character verb To improve a person's character by developing personality traits such as resilience or responsibility.
- build the plane while flying it verb To develop one's approach or strategy to a project while carrying out that project, and not beforehand.
- build up verb To accumulate: to increase incrementally or continually.
- built different adj Able to do things which others cannot; extremely talented or unusual.
- built like a brick shithouse adj Of a man, having a muscular body, particularly with well-developed muscles of the chest, arms and abdominals.
- bulk billing noun The process whereby a general practitioner or other medical service provider charges the government for medical expenses incurred by a…
- bull in a china shop noun A person who is clumsy, aggressive, without care, concern or self-control.
- bull session noun An informal discursive group discussion, often one where politics, economics or current events are discussed.
- bum rap noun An undeservedly unfavorable portrayal or reputation.
- bum rush noun A storming into an establishment.
- bump and grind noun A sexually suggestive dance involving exaggerated hip movements, especially a striptease dance.
- bump in the road noun A setback or obstacle, especially one which is relatively minor.
- bump into verb To meet by chance.
- bump off verb To kill, especially to murder.
- bump up verb To increase something suddenly.
- bun fight noun A debate or disagreement, usually with several parties involved, often political in nature.
- bundle of energy noun One who is especially lively, continually active, or industrious.
- bundle of joy noun A newborn baby.
- bundle of nerves noun A person with an especially nervous, excitable, or fearful disposition.
- bundle off verb To send someone away quickly and without fussing.
- bunker verb To place (someone) in a position that is difficult to get out of; to hinder.
- bunny hop noun A dance from the big band era, a variation of the conga, in which dancers made small jumps with feet together.
- bunny hug noun A style of early 20th-century dance, performed to ragtime music.
- buoy up verb To uplift, hearten, inspire, or raise the spirits of.
- buried treasure noun Something valuable that is concealed for a long time and then rediscovered.
- burn bread verb To cause something unfortunate to happen to (someone) by mentioning it; to jinx something for (someone).
- burn daylight verb To waste time.
- burn out verb To make (someone) unavailable for work involving exposure to ionizing radiation by employing (the person) in such work until the person's…
- burn rubber verb To accelerate so rapidly from standstill that it leaves a mark of burnt rubber on the road from the tire.
- burn that bridge when one comes to it verb To anticipate dealing with a problem or situation either by acting in a manner that alienates or cuts ties with others, or merely with the…
- burn the candle at both ends verb To work hard night and day; to sleep late and wake up early; to overwork or overexert oneself.
- burn the roof verb To experience a great time enjoying and dancing to the music in a dancehall or nightclub.
- burn time verb To waste time unnecessarily.
- burst someone's bubble verb To disillusion; to disabuse someone of a false notion or rationalization that has grown comfortable.
- bury the hatchet verb To cease fighting or arguing; to reach an agreement, or at least a truce.
- bury the lede verb To begin a story with details of secondary importance to the reader while postponing more essential points or facts.
- bus plunge noun A phrase often used in filler story headlines in print newspapers, prior to the adoption of computer-aided typesetting and publishing…
- bush league noun A professional sports association at the lower levels of minor league organization.
- bush telegraph noun A system used by undeveloped societies in remote regions for communication over long distances, such as drum sounds, word-of-mouth relay…
- business as usual phrase The normal course of an activity, particularly in circumstances that are out of the ordinary.
- business end noun The part of an object (chiefly a tool or weapon) that is physically used for its operation, rather than some other part such as the part by…
- business girl noun A female prostitute.
- bust a move verb To dance.
- bust a nut verb To ejaculate.