20 Work Idioms in English

20 Work Idioms in English: Boost Your Vocabulary for Jobs, Business & Exams

Work is a huge part of our lives — sometimes inspiring, sometimes exhausting, and sometimes powered almost entirely by coffee ☕. Not surprisingly, English has dozens of idioms to talk about working hard, meeting deadlines, being efficient, and trying to succeed. 20 Work Idioms in English

If you are preparing for Cambridge exams (B2 First, C1 Advanced) or you simply want your English to sound more natural and professional, these idioms will help you express yourself in a much more fluent and confident way.

Let’s look at 20 of the most useful work idioms in English, all with clear meanings and natural examples.

Burn the midnight oil

Meaning: to work late into the night.

• She burned the midnight oil to finish the report on time.
• I usually burn the midnight oil before important exams.

Pull your weight

Meaning: to do your fair share of the work.

• Everyone needs to pull their weight if we want this project to succeed.
• He’s a great team member — he always pulls his weight.

Think outside the box

Meaning: to think creatively and come up with new ideas.

• We need to think outside the box to solve this problem.
• She was praised for thinking outside the box and finding a simple solution.

Go the extra mile

Meaning: to make more effort than is expected.

• Our teacher always goes the extra mile for her students.
• They went the extra mile to make their customers happy.

Hit the ground running

Meaning: to start something energetically and successfully.

• He hit the ground running in his new job.
• The new manager hit the ground running and introduced changes immediately.

Keep your nose to the grindstone

Meaning: to work very hard and persistently.

• If you keep your nose to the grindstone, you’ll reach your goals.
• She kept her nose to the grindstone for months to get that promotion.

On the back burner

Meaning: postponed or left for later.

• We had to put the project on the back burner for a while.
• His hobbies are often on the back burner because of work.

A well-oiled machine

Meaning: something that works very smoothly and efficiently.

• The whole team works like a well-oiled machine.
• The restaurant is a well-oiled machine during busy hours.

Bring home the bacon

Meaning: to earn money to support your family.

• She works hard to bring home the bacon.
• They both work to bring home the bacon.

Under the gun

Meaning: under strong pressure, especially because of time.

• We’re under the gun to finish this by Friday.
• He works well under the gun.

Put in a good word

Meaning: to recommend someone.

• Could you put in a good word for me with your boss?
• She put in a good word for her colleague.

Crunch time

Meaning: the most critical and busy period.

• It’s crunch time before the deadline.
• The last week before the launch was pure crunch time.

Back to the drawing board

Meaning: to start again because something failed.

• The plan didn’t work, so it’s back to the drawing board.
• His first idea was rejected, so he went back to the drawing board.

Too many irons in the fire

Meaning: trying to do too many things at once.

• She has too many irons in the fire and feels exhausted.
• I realised I had too many irons in the fire and had to simplify.

Work like a dog

Meaning: to work extremely hard.

• He works like a dog to support his family.
• They’ve been working like dogs all month.

A labour of love

Meaning: work you do because you love it, not because you have to.

• Restoring the old house was a labour of love.
• Writing that book was a labour of love for her.

Hold the fort

Meaning: to take care of things while someone is away.

• Can you hold the fort while I’m out?
• She held the fort while her manager was on holiday.

By the book

Meaning: following rules very strictly.

• He does everything by the book.
• The accountant works strictly by the book.

Climb the corporate ladder

Meaning: to advance in your career.

• She’s determined to climb the corporate ladder.
• He climbed the corporate ladder very quickly.

All in a day’s work

Meaning: something normal for your job.

• Dealing with problems is all in a day’s work for her.
• For a firefighter, that’s all in a day’s work.

These idioms appear constantly in workplace conversations, articles, and exam texts. If you start using even five or six of them naturally, your English will immediately sound more fluent, more confident, and more professional.

As the old saying goes: steady work beats sudden genius — so keep your nose to the grindstone 😉.

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