Making decisions is a crucial part of our daily lives, whether at work, home, or in personal matters. Understanding and using expressions related to decisions can help you communicate more effectively and sound more fluent. Here are 20 expressions to enrich your vocabulary.
1. Call the shots
Meaning: Make decisions
Example: She calls the shots at work.
2. Bite the bullet
Meaning: Face a tough decision
Example: He bit the bullet and resigned.
3. Cut to the chase
Meaning: Get to the point
Example: Let’s cut to the chase and decide now.
4. Make a call
Meaning: Decide
Example: It’s your turn to make a call.
5. Take the plunge
Meaning: Decide to do something risky
Example: They took the plunge and got married.
6. Sit on the fence
Meaning: Avoid making a decision
Example: She’s sitting on the fence about the job.
7. Weigh up
Meaning: Consider the options
Example: He weighed up the pros and cons.
8. Burn your bridges
Meaning: Make an irreversible decision
Example: She burned her bridges with her boss.
9. Flip a coin
Meaning: Decide by chance
Example: They flipped a coin to decide.
10. Stick to your guns
Meaning: Maintain your decision
Example: He stuck to his guns about the plan.
11. Take a stand
Meaning: Make a firm decision
Example: She took a stand on the issue.
12. Go back to the drawing board
Meaning: Start over
Example: We’ll go back to the drawing board now.
13. Pull the trigger
Meaning: Make a decisive move
Example: He pulled the trigger on the deal.
14. Call it a day
Meaning: Decide to stop
Example: Let’s call it a day and go home.
15. Cross that bridge when you come to it
Meaning: Deal with a problem when it arises
Example: We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.
16. Play it by ear
Meaning: Decide as you go
Example: We’ll play it by ear tomorrow.
17. Jump the gun
Meaning: Decide prematurely
Example: He jumped the gun on the decision.
18. Call it quits
Meaning: Decide to stop
Example: They called it quits on the project.
19. Roll the dice
Meaning: Take a risk
Example: They rolled the dice with their investment.
20. Turn the tables
Meaning: Reverse the situation
Example: She turned the tables with her decision.