Welcome to our fun guide on building idioms! Even if you’re just starting to learn English, this post will help you understand some cool phrases that use the idea of “building” to make conversations interesting. Let’s build up your English skills with some common idioms!
Building Idioms
Here are 20 building idioms in English with meaning and example sentence for each.
1. Lay the foundation
Meaning: Establish a basic structure or basis.
Example: We need to lay the foundation for our project.
2. From the ground up
Meaning: Start from the beginning.
Example: She built her business from the ground up.
3. Hit the roof
Meaning: Become very angry.
Example: Dad will hit the roof when he finds out.
4. Raise the roof
Meaning: Celebrate noisily.
Example: They really raised the roof last night.
5. Walls have ears
Meaning: People are listening.
Example: Be quiet, the walls have ears.
6. Through the roof
Meaning: Increase significantly.
Example: Prices have gone through the roof.
7. Build bridges
Meaning: Improve relationships.
Example: It’s time to build bridges with them.
8. Burn bridges
Meaning: Destroy relationships.
Example: Don’t burn bridges with your team.
9. Under construction
Meaning: Still being developed or built.
Example: The new mall is under construction.
10. A house of cards
Meaning: A structure or plan with little support.
Example: Their plan is a house of cards.
11. Build up
Meaning: Gradually accumulate.
Example: Build up your savings slowly.
12. Brick by brick
Meaning: Slowly and steadily.
Example: He built his reputation brick by brick.
13. Nail it down
Meaning: Finalize details.
Example: Let’s nail it down by Friday.
14. Cement a relationship
Meaning: Strengthen a bond.
Example: They cemented their relationship over time.
15. As solid as a rock
Meaning: Very strong or reliable.
Example: His loyalty is as solid as a rock.
16. On shaky ground
Meaning: Insecure or unstable situation.
Example: Their agreement is on shaky ground.
17. Tear down
Meaning: Destroy or demolish.
Example: They decided to tear down the old building.
18. Tower above
Meaning: Stand out above others.
Example: She towers above her competitors.
19. Roof over your head
Meaning: Having a place to live.
Example: You always need a roof over your head.
20. Knock down
Meaning: Demolish or reduce in price.
Example: They knocked down the price to sell it fast.
