Health and Medicine Idioms: The English language is a vast discipline. It consists of various segments which cater to the expanse and fame of the language in the world. English is made of several sections which hold unique importance in building a correct and successful sentence to express one’s feelings.
Idioms are a vital part of one of these segments known as the parts of speech. Recently, idioms related to health and fitness have been gaining popularity due to the pandemic, and more people are being familiarised with mental health idioms.
For those who seek to learn idioms on health with meaning, the fun way, we have compiled in this article a long list of idioms on health and wellness for your eased convenience.
Enrich your Vocabulary by practicing the English Idioms that are commonly used in everyday conversations and understand their actual meaning.
Name of Health and Medicine Idioms
List of Health and Medicine Idioms
- A better pill to swallow
- A clean bill of health
- A shiver runs down one’s spine
- Alive and kicking
- As blind as a bat
- As pale as a ghost
- As right as rain
- Bag of bones
- Black and blue
- Bundle of nerves
- Burn out
- Full of beans
- Hard of hearing
- Land of the living
- Laughter is the best medicine
- Pins and needles
- Spare tire
- To be as fit as a fiddle
- To be back on one’s feet
- To be in good shape
- To be on borrowed time
- To be on one’s last leg
- To be on the mend
- To be out of shape
- To be sick and tired
- To be sick as a dog
- To be sick to one’s stomach
- To be under the weather
- To be weak at the knees
- To black out
- To break out in a cold sweat
- To bring someone to
- To catch a cold
- To come down with something
- To feel blue
- To feel fresh as a daisy
- To go under the knife
- To have a frog in one’s throat
- To have one foot in the grave
- To kick the bucket
- To nurse someone back to health
- To pass out
- To pull through
- To take a turn for the better
- To take a turn for the worse
- To be bent out of shape
- To call in sick
- To swallow a lump in one’s throat
- To throw up
- Up and about
- Vim and vigor
Meaning and Examples of some commonly used Health and Medicine Idioms
A better pill to swallow
Meaning: This idiom describes a situation where an individual has to endure a very unpleasant, disappointing, humiliating or negative incident or action.
Example: Us losing the tournament after months of rigorous practice was indeed a better pill to swallow, but we won’t give in.
A clean bill of health
Meaning: This idiom describes the action of declaring orally or in written format that an individual is doing good physically.
Example: My mother felt anxious about my sister, but the doctor declared she had a clean bit of health.
A shiver runs down one’s spine
Meaning: This idiom describes a sudden shudder or chills felt through an individual’s back which is induced by fear or excitement.
Example: When I looked at him perform for the first time, a shiver ran down my spine.
Alive and kicking
Meaning: This idiom describes someone who is highly active, cheerful, and full of energy despite being older.
Example: My grandma turned 80 this Friday, and she’s so happy to be alive and kicking.
As blind as a bat
Meaning: This idiom describes an individual who is not able to see very well or clearly.
Example: Why did you step on the newly painted stair? Are you as blind as a bat?
As pale as a ghost
Meaning: This idiom describes an individual who is extremely pale due to fear, illness, or nervousness.
Example: Before the announcement of the results, she looked as pale as a ghost.
As right as rain
Meaning: This idiom describes an individual who is in good health.
Example: I’m so glad to see my brother doing as right as rain after his surgery.
Bag of bones
Meaning: This idiom describes an individual who is exceptionally skinny it thin and appears sick due to not eating their meals well.
Example: Are you sick, Maria? You really look like a bag of bones right now.
Black and blue
Meaning: This idiom describes the state of an individual where they are mentally or physically hurt or bruised.
Example: I felt black and blue after losing the game I trained so hard for.
Bundle of nerves
Meaning: This idiom describes an individual who is extremely nervous or anxious about something.
Example: He kept fidgeting in class, appearing to be a bundle of nerves.
Burn out
Meaning: This idiom describes an individual who is extremely tired as a result of working too much for too long.
Example: I will take a while to recover from my burnout, so I request a leave.
Full of beans
Meaning: This idiom describes the state of an individual where they are full of energy.
Example: My little brother is full of beans, even though he keeps jumping all day long.
Hard of hearing
Meaning: This idiom describes an individual who is unable to hear very well.
Example: Excuse me, would you mind speaking up a little? My grandmother is hard of hearing.
Land of the living
Meaning: This idiom describes a comment or statement which signifies that an individual is still alive.
Example: You should appreciate god’s blessing for you to still continue in the land of the living.
Laughter is the best medicine
Meaning: This idiom describes an individual who has a very cheerful and carefree attitude with a very positive outlook on life and looks forward to having a good and enjoyable life.
Example: Well, I think you should watch videos that make you feel happy after all laughter is the best medicine.
Pins and needles
Meaning: This idiom describes an irritation or tingling sensation in an individual’s body.
Example: I can’t walk straight because there are pins and needles in my leg after standing for so long.
Spare tire
Meaning: This idiom describes an individual who has a chubby tummy. In simpler words, it is used to refer to a person who is obese.
Example: To get his surgery done, he has to get rid of his spare tire.
To be as fit as a fiddle
Meaning: This idiom describes someone who is healthy and very strong.
Example: Old age hits her grandfather, but he goes jogging every morning, which keeps him as fit as a fiddle.
To be back on one’s feet
Meaning: This idiom describes a situation where an individual has been sick but they have recovered and is ready to resume an everyday life.
Example: Jack’s father had a stroke, but not he seems to be back on his feet.
To be in good shape
Meaning: This idiom describes the physique or physical condition of something being great.
Example: After her spouse passed away, she gave her best to get back to being in good shape.
To be on borrowed time
Meaning: This idiom describes an individual who is unexpectedly living longer than one had anticipated.
Example: She was the last heir of the Ming Dynasty, and she appeared to be in favor of the gods being on borrowed time.
To be on one’s last leg
Meaning: This idiom describes an individual who is either about to collapse or is very close to dying.
Example: My tears won’t stop pouring out when I learned that my cat was on her last leg.
To be on the mend
Meaning: This idiom describes a situation where one has been sick for a long time and is starting to recover.
Example: Joshua has been released from the hospital this morning, and he is on the mend.
To be out of shape
Meaning: This idiom describes the state of an individual where there are not in the excellent physical condition and feel exhausted.
Example: I don’t think I can run another round, and I feel out of shape to go for it.
To be sick and tired
Meaning: This idiom describes an individual who feels exceedingly tired, sick, or exhausted.
Example: I want to separate from my parents. I am just really so sick and tired of them arguing over unnecessary things.
To be sick as a dog
Meaning: This idiom describes an individual’s health condition to be very damaging.
Example: I am sorry I could not make it on time, I have lately been as sich as a dog, Jane.
To be sick to one’s stomach
Meaning: This idiom describes the state of an individual where they feel like throwing up or vomiting and nauseated.
Example: After downing a whole glass of beer in one go, Jay felt sick to his stomach not being used to alcohol.
To be under the weather
Meaning: This idiom describes the state of an individual when they are not feeling well physically or feel sick.
Example: Oh my god, Coups, why are you sneezing so much? Are you under the weather?
To be weak at the knees
Meaning: This idiom describes an individual’s feeling when they are about to faint.
Example: When the doctor pulled out the scissors, I was weak at the knees.
To black out
Meaning: This idiom describes the state of an individual when they collapse or lose consciousness.
Example: After going without food for 4 days, she came to class and blacked out completely.
To break out in a cold sweat
Meaning: This idiom describes the action of suddenly perspiring as a cause of anxiety, stress, or fear from someone or something.
Example: There were so many spiders around that I got anxious and broke out in a cold sweat.
To bring someone to
Meaning: This idiom describes an individual who is brought back to consciousness.
Example: I am glad you stayed over till he was brought back to his consciousness.
To catch a cold
Meaning: This idiom describes the state of an individual where they have a cold or cough due to the weather.
Example: Please don’t let the clothed dry on you, and you might catch a cold.
To come down with something
Meaning: This idiom describes the state of an individual where they have gotten sick suddenly.
Example: Have you dropped George off at his house? He came down with a fever this morning.
To feel blue
Meaning: This idiom describes the feeling of an individual being depressed or extremely sad.
Example: I had been feeling blue since I woke up, but the song cheered me up.
To feel fresh as a daisy
Meaning: This idiom describes the feeling of relaxation, happiness, and joy in one’s life.
Example: Have you seen her graceful movements? They make me feel as fresh as a daisy.
To go under the knife
Meaning: This idiom describes a situation where one has to go through a medical operation or surgery.
Example: He was quite prepared to go under the knife, but the doctor told him medicine would do the work.
To have a frog in one’s throat
Meaning: This idiom describes a situation where an individual is unable to get words out of their throat because they feel choked.
Example: I don’t think I can sing today, and I have a frog in my throat.
To have one foot in the grave
Meaning: This idiom describes the feeling of sickness or a state of old age in an individual, which is an indication that they will die soon.
Example: My cat lived with us for so long, now she’s slowly getting skinnier, and it appears to me that she has one foot in the grave.
To kick the bucket
Meaning: This idiom describes an individual who has passed away or died.
Example: I am not sure about this stunt. Do you think I would kick the bucket if I tried it?
To nurse someone back to health
Meaning: This idiom describes an individual who aids another person and gives them the nourishment and care to recover and resume an everyday life.
Example: I had to stay in America for 3 years to nurse my mother back to health.
To pass out
Meaning: This idiom describes a situation where an individual loses their consciousness.
Example: After an exhausting performance, he passed out.
To pull through
Meaning: This idiom describes a situation where an individual is able to survive or live past a severe or life-threatening illness or event.
Example: Please don’t let go, you have to pull through for your child.
To take a turn for the better
Meaning: This idiom describes a situation where things or a person becomes conditionally better as they recover from their illness or injury.
Example: After the surgery, his mother’s health took a turn for the better.
To take a turn for the worse
Meaning: This idiom describes a situation where things or a person becomes conditionally worse due to illness or injury.
Example: After the second stroke, his father’s health took a turn for the worse.
To be bent out of shape
Meaning: This idiom describes an individual being extremely tired, exhausted and physically or mentally drained.
Example: Are you alright for real? You look bent out of shape.
To call in sick
Meaning: This idiom describes an individual’s gesture to inform someone about themselves being unable to attend an appointment due to sickness.
Example: Be sure to call in sick if you can’t come.
To swallow a lump in one’s throat
Meaning: This idiom describes a situation where one feels very anxious and choked due to fear or anxiety.
Example: When the detective questioned me, I swallowed a lump in my throat.
To throw up
Meaning: This idiom describes the feeling of nausea and vomiting due to sickness.
Example: If you have to throw up, tell me when you feel nauseous so that we can pull over to the side.
Up and about
Meaning: This idiom describes an individual who is able to move and walk around freely, showing no signs of stress or pain (usually after recovering from their illness).
Example: I am glad to see you up and about after being bedridden for a month.
Vim and vigor
Meaning: This idiom describes vitality or being very positive and full of joy.
Example: You should all look forward to this event with vim and vigor, we will win for sure.