Top 101 Common GMAT Idioms and How to Learn Them

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Last Updated on May 12, 2023

If you’ve started studying for the Verbal section of the GMAT, you’ve probably seen a lot of discussion online and elsewhere about idioms. GMAT idioms can be tricky at times, particularly for test-takers whose native language isn’t English.

Luckily, you don’t need to memorize every idiom under the sun in order to do well in GMAT verbal. In this article, I’ll give you a list of the top 101 most common GMAT idioms and how they’re used, as well as some effective strategies for studying idioms that all test-takers can easily integrate into their GMAT prep.

First, let’s discuss what exactly an idiom is.

• What is a GMAT Idiom?
• Why Study Idioms to Prepare for the GMAT?
• How Are Idioms Tested on the GMAT?
• How Much Should I Study Idioms for GMAT Sentence Correction?
• How to Learn Idioms for GMAT Sentence Correction
  • Make GMAT Idiom Flashcards for the Most Common GMAT Idioms
  • Make GMAT Idiom Flashcards for New Idioms You Encounter
  • Read From High-Quality Sources to Build Your Idiom Knowledge
  • Incorporate Idioms Into Your Daily Writing
  • When Memory Fails, Use Logic
• GMAT Idioms List: Top 101 Common GMAT Idioms

What is a GMAT Idiom?

An idiom is a commonly used set of words that have a unique meaning in combination, a meaning that isn’t necessarily obvious based on the individual words. 

Take the expression “believe in,” for example. If you say that you “believe in alternate dimensions,” the meaning conveyed is that you believe that alternate dimensions exist. You’re not saying that you “believe” while physically being “in” alternate dimensions. 

In other words, the meaning of the phrase “believe in” can’t be derived from the literal meaning of each word in the phrase. The whole is something other than the sum of its parts.

Another example is the GMAT idiom “prevent from.” If you had never seen that expression used, would you know to combine “prevent” with “from”? Probably not. “Prevent” means “ensure that something does not occur,” while “from” is normally used to indicate where something began. So, putting the two words together is not necessarily intuitive.

Why Study Idioms to Prepare for the GMAT?

Idioms frequently appear in GMAT Verbal passages and are tested in GMAT Sentence Correction questions because idioms are an integral part of the English language. In fact, you probably often use common GMAT idioms in conversation, without even realizing you’re doing so.

Meanwhile, as we just saw in our examples “believe in” and “prevent from,” idiomatic expressions sometimes use words in unexpected ways that we would not likely guess were correct had we not seen those idioms before.

So, now that we know why it’s important to study idioms for the GMAT, let’s look at how idioms are tested on the GMAT.

How Are Idioms Tested on the GMAT?

Although you may come across idiomatic expressions in Reading Comprehension and Critical Reasoning passages, you will be tested on the use of idioms in GMAT Sentence Correction. In Sentence Correction questions, idioms may be used to test your understanding of the logic of what a sentence is saying and your ability to pick up on redundant meanings and wordiness or awkward phrasing in sentences.

So, knowing common GMAT idioms is yet another aspect of being able to efficiently analyze and accurately interpret sentences in Sentence Correction questions.

How Much Should I Study Idioms for GMAT Sentence Correction?

In general, learning GMAT idioms tends to present a bit more of a challenge for non-native English speakers. However, native speakers of English sometimes make the mistake of assuming that because English is their first language, they don’t need to study GMAT idioms.

The truth is, native English speakers often misuse common GMAT idioms, so every GMAT test-taker should make brushing up on idioms part of GMAT study. The question is, how big a part of GMAT prep should studying idioms be?

If English is not your first language, you should be prepared to put in some extra study time of idioms for GMAT Sentence Correction. However, even for non-native English speakers, dedicated study of idioms does not have to be a daily task. Yes, all GMAT students should do some dedicated study of idioms (we’ll discuss how to do that study next). But, since idioms are so common in the English language, you will encounter them even when you’re not studying them specifically. So, noticing idioms in the things you read and as you’re doing your GMAT Verbal prep, will help you learn their proper use.

Remember, there are MANY concepts to learn for GMAT Verbal, and even just for Sentence Correction. So, you need to take a balanced approach to learning Verbal concepts and content (not to mention GMAT Quant). Recognizing and properly employing idioms is only one small piece of a very large puzzle.

I see many GMAT students get carried away with studying idioms, as if poring over lists of hundreds of idioms is a secret “hack” for mastering Sentence Correction. As Lawrence Rudner, GMAC’s vice president of research and development, has stated, Sentence Correction question writers seek to create “a GMAT exam that doesn’t test simply a person’s ability to memorize grammatical rules or recognize idioms for their colloquial meanings, but a test that rewards reasoning regardless of the test taker’s background.”

So, you can’t rely on memorization alone to perform well in GMAT Sentence Correction. As we saw in Mr. Rudner’s statement above, performing well in GMAT Sentence Correction requires a more nuanced analysis than simply identifying key phrases or rules in isolation allows. For this reason, and particularly if you are a native English speaker, idiom memorization should generally be a supplement to your GMAT diet, not a main dish.

Idiom memorization should generally be a supplement to your GMAT diet, not a main dish.

Of course, you will need to do some specific study of common GMAT idioms. So, let’s discuss the most effective and efficient strategies for learning idioms.

How to Learn Idioms for GMAT Sentence Correction

While no one can predict which idioms will appear on any given GMAT, there are some idioms that tend to appear more often than others on the GMAT, so it’s important to know what those idioms are and commit them to memory. Let’s talk about the best way to learn GMAT idioms.

Make GMAT Idiom Flashcards for the Most Common GMAT Idioms

At the end of this article, you’ll find a list of the top 101 most common GMAT idioms. These are the idioms you want to be able to quickly recognize and properly use in GMAT Sentence Correction. So, you’ll need to memorize that list of idioms, and the easiest way to do so is to create flashcards. 

On the front of an index card, write an idiom, on the back of the card, write an example sentence and any other relevant notes that you find relevant. Make one index card for each of the most common GMAT idioms on our top 101 list. Alternatively, you can use a flashcard app to make digital flashcards. Use whichever method works best for you.

I can’t emphasize enough what fantastic tools flashcards, whether written or digital, are for learning idioms. First, they’re incredibly convenient and can be accessed pretty much at any time. If you are someone who commutes to and from work by public transportation, for example, your commute is a great opportunity to review your idiom flashcards. If you’re waiting in line at a store, whip out your flashcards and do some quick studying.

In addition to being usable on the go, flashcards are great because you can use them to track which idioms you know well and which you don’t. As you commit idioms to memory, simply add them to a separate pile of idioms you’ve mastered. Then you can be sure that you focus your practice on the idioms you haven’t yet mastered. Of course, you can review the “mastered” pile once in a while just to ensure that nothing has slipped through the cracks.

Make GMAT Idiom Flashcards for New Idioms You Encounter

As I already mentioned, no one can predict which idioms will appear in GMAT Sentence Correction questions, but memorizing a list of 500 or more idioms really isn’t a practical (or necessary) Sentence Correction strategy. If, however, you come across an idiom you don’t recognize in a Sentence Correction question, particularly if the idiom trips you up in your answer choice selection, make a flashcard for that idiom and add it to your “not mastered” pile. 

The fact is, any idiom you encounter in Sentence Correction that is new to you, whether it is one of the most common GMAT idioms or not, is useful for you to know. Remember, every test-taker comes from a different background and body of knowledge, so what is familiar to one person may be unfamiliar to another. So, keep your own list of GMAT idioms that you don’t know, noting both the idiom and how to use it, and make additional flashcards for those idioms.

Read From High-Quality Sources to Build Your Idiom Knowledge

Reading from high-quality sources can help test-takers build their idiom knowledge and make recognizing how idioms are used come more naturally. For one, you’ll see idioms in many different contexts, as you will in GMAT Sentence Correction, so you’ll see the various ways that a particular idiom may be used.

Additionally, you won’t merely be learning idioms “in isolation.” You probably know from studying a foreign language in high school or college that one of the best ways to learn the nuances of a language is to “immerse” yourself in it. So, think of reading newspapers such as The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, magazines such as the Economist and Scientific American, and other high-quality sources as an immersion technique. Incidentally, this technique will benefit you in other areas of GMAT Verbal as well.

Incorporate Idioms Into Your Daily Writing

Another “immersion technique” is to put what you learn into practice. In your daily writing for work or school — even in your correspondence with family and friends — make sure that you are properly using idioms. As I mentioned earlier, the English language is chock full of idiomatic expressions, so there is probably no shortage of GMAT idioms that you regularly use in your writing.

Even in the study notes you create for yourself during your GMAT prep for any topic, stop yourself if you notice that you’re using an idiom incorrectly. The more you use idioms properly in your own writing — and the less you misuse them — the better prepared you’ll be to spot the correct and incorrect usage of idioms in other writing.

When Memory Fails, Use Logic

It may be the case that you come across an idiom you’re unsure of in a GMAT Sentence Correction question. Perhaps you’ve forgotten the exact phrasing of that particular idiom, or you can’t remember which preposition is used in it, or you simply haven’t seen it before. Luckily, even if you don’t know the exact idiom, you usually can tell whether the idiom is correct by using logic.

In fact, even if you do know the idiom, you should always use logic to ensure that the idiom is correct in the particular context of the given question. Remember, memorization alone is not enough to master Sentence Correction. Let’s take our earlier example of the idiom “believe in,” for example. As you’ll see in the GMAT idiom list below, the verb “believe” can actually appear in a few different idiomatic expressions — believe in, believe to be, believe that.

So, without analyzing the context in which a “believe” idiom is used, how will you know which idiomatic expression is correct?

You can’t simply look for a particular combination of words in a Sentence Correction question in order to “check the box” that the question is correct. You must always analyze the logic, structure, and meaning of the sentence in order to ensure not only that the combination of words is correct but also that they are used correctly in that context.

Now that you know what idioms are, how they are tested on the GMAT, and how to efficiently learn them, be sure to review the list of idioms below and make flashcards for those idioms, as well as any others you don’t recognize that you encounter in GMAT Sentence Correction questions. And for more Sentence Correction study strategies, check out these 8 essential GMAT Sentence Correction tips.

GMAT Idioms List: Top 101 Common GMAT Idioms

able to	John was able to see the fireworks from his rooftop.
ability to	Ants have the ability to lift anywhere from 20 to 100 times their weight.
accompanied by	Children under the age of 17 must be accompanied by a parent at R-rated movies.
afraid of	The little boy was afraid of the dark.
aid in	The tutor aided the student in preparing for the test.
appear to	Sam appeared to have it all together, but secretly he was panicked.
as X as Y	The band hopes to one day be as popular as The Beatles.
attribute X to Y	I attribute my success to years of hard work.
averse to	The school board is averse to radical changes to the curriculum.
based on	The updated recommendations are based on a meta-analysis of more than 100 studies.
belief in	Her belief in ghosts was ridiculed by her friends.
believe in	Many adults still believe in fairytales.
believe that	Some conspiracy theorists believe that the moon landing was staged.
believe to be believe X to be Y	The butler is believed to be the culprit. Fire department officials believed faulty wiring to be the cause of the explosion.
better than	There is nothing better than a glass of iced tea on a hot summer day.
between X and Y	The couple couldn’t decide between a DJ and a band for their wedding.
both X and Y	Material from both the textbook and the class discussion will be covered on the test.
capable of	Studies show that humans are not capable of multitasking in an efficient way.
center on	The discussion centered on fracking’s environmental impact.
choose from	You can choose from dozens of toppings at the ice cream shop.
choose to	This is your mission, should you choose to accept it.
collide with	Hopefully, the asteroid will not collide with Earth!
combine with combine X with Y	Olive oil combined with balsamic vinegar and fresh lemon makes a delicious salad dressing. For the salad dressing, simply combine olive oil with balsamic vinegar.
comment on	The police commissioner refused to comment on an active investigation.
common to (meaning "shared by")	The desire for happiness is common to all people.
in common with	Natasha has nothing in common with her coworkers.
compare to (used for dissimilar things)	Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
compare with (used for similar things)	Comparing the new safety features with the old ones really highlights how far the technology has advanced.
composed of	The city council was composed of residents of all ages and backgrounds.
consider X Y	I consider it a huge honor to officiate your wedding.
consist of	The reading list consists of both novels and biographies.
consistent with	The shattered window is consistent with evidence of a break-in.
contrast X with Y	If you contrast his findings with those of previous studies, you will see that further research is necessary.
in contrast to	The executive order stands in stark contrast to the president’s campaign promise.
date at (meaning “determine the date to be”)	Archaeologists dated the vase at about 3,000 years old.
date from (meaning “originate from the time of”)	Laboratory analysis showed that the artifact dated from the 5th century.
defend against	His publicist defended him against the media onslaught
define as	The law is not always clear about what it defines as self-defense.
delighted by	Lena was delighted by her sister’s suggestion that they split the lottery winnings.
depict as	The film depicted the soldiers as heroes.
depend on (whether)	The success of the company depends on whether there is a demand for the product.
descend from	All domesticated dogs descended from wolves.
descendant of	My dog acts like a descendant of royalty.
different/differ from	IQ tests are very different from other types of exams.
discourage from	Sheila tried to discourage her son from watching TV all afternoon.
distinguish between X and Y	From a very young age, children can distinguish between lying and telling the truth.
distinguish X from Y	Are you able to distinguish fantasy from reality?
due to (meaning "caused by")	The traffic was due to an accident on the highway.
either X or Y neither X nor Y	You can either eat your vegetables or go to your room. Neither the search dogs nor the psychic could find the buried treasure.
embarrassed by	Craig was embarrassed by his parents’ public displays of affection.
estimate to be	The family fortune was estimated to be nearly a billion dollars.
exchange X for Y	He exchanged the shoes for a more comfortable pair.
familiar with	Before he took the course in classical music, he wasn’t even familiar with Beethoven’s Fifth.
fascinated by	Frannie is particularly fascinated by string theory.
fascination with	Her fascination with physics isn’t limited to controversial theories.
focus on	You will be more productive if you focus on the task at hand and ignore any distractions.
for every X, Y	For every ten dollars in sales, the company will donate one dollar to charity.
forbid/forbidden to	The hunters were forbidden to enter private lands.
from X to Y	The drive from New York to New Jersey is a quick one.
independent from	The three branches of the U.S. government are independent from one another.
independent of	The Supreme Court is supposed to uphold the Constitution, independent of personal politics.
indifferent/indifference towards	His indifference towards the homeless makes his displays of wealth seem all the more tasteless.
just as X, so (too) Y	Just as the President leads the United States, so the Prime Minister leads Canada.
known as	The serial killer known as Jack the Ripper was never identified or captured.
mistake X for Y	Jane realized when she tried to open the car door that she had mistaken Randall’s keys for her own.
modeled after model X after Y	The solar-powered concept car is modeled after the American muscle cars of the 1960s. The little boy models his behavior after his father's.
move away from	The new party leaders are moving away from the more regressive policy proposals of the past.
native of	Monica is a native of France.
native to	The Arnica plant is native to Siberia.
necessary to	Although you need to work hard, it is still necessary to prioritize your health.
not X but Y	The loan came not from his parents but from his best friend.
not only X, but also Y	Clint Eastwood is not only an actor but also a director.
not so much X as Y	Al Gore is now famous not so much for serving as vice president as for raising awareness about climate change.
originate in (meaning "start in")	The Christian celebration known as All Hallows Eve originated in eighth century Europe.
originate from (meaning “arise from”)	Halloween originated from an ancient pagan festival.
originate with (meaning “begin with”)	The ancient pagan festival that became Halloween originated with the Celts
perceive as	The strategy, while profitable, is perceived as unethical.
potential to	Advancements in artificial intelligence have the potential to change the way humans view consciousness.
prefer X to Y	I prefer reading books to watching television.
prevent/prohibit from	The sign prohibited the group from hunting on the wildlife preserve
protect against	Regular exercise helps protect against heart disease.
provide X with Y	The venture capital provided the company with sufficient funding to expand operations.
range from X to Y	Topics in the media literacy course ranged from source evaluation to the influence of corporate advertisers.
range of	The latest SUV model offers a range of pricey optional features.
rather than rather X than Y	Why don't you run outdoors rather than use a treadmill? I would rather run outdoors than use a treadmill.
regard as	She is regarded as one of the top surgeons in the country.
replace X with Y	The baker replaced chocolate chips with carob chips in the vegan version of the cookies.
same to X as to Y	Scientists have yet to figure out whether dreams look the same to infants as to adults.
save for (meaning "except for")	Save for her best friend, Tina didn't know anyone who attended her gallery exhibition.
separate from	You must separate the wheat from the chaff.
similar to	Research suggests that the intelligence of pigs is similar to that of dogs.
so X as to Y	Her victory was so decisive as to arouse suspicions that she was using performance-enhancing drugs.
so X that Y	The earthquake was so powerful that the windows shattered.
substitute X for Y	You cannot substitute charm for good manners.
suffer from	After Jackson claimed to suffer from numerous rare illnesses, the doctor diagnosed him as a hypochondriac.
target at	The early morning advertisements are targeted at senior citizens.
think of X as Y	If you think of mistakes as learning opportunities, you are more likely to succeed.
thought to be thought X	The painting was thought to be one of Picasso's early works but turned out to be a forgery. Everyone thought him a fool, but he was actually a genius.
unlike X, Y	Unlike many butterflies, moths are generally not brightly colored.
view as	Viewing your setbacks as stepping stones is a very healthy attitude.
worry about	The study found that students who worried excessively about fitting in with their peers performed worse in class.