50 Idioms for Accident with Meanings & Sentences
Idioms for Accident
1. A close call
Meaning: Something bad almost happened, but didn’t.
In a Sentence: That car almost hit me—it was a close call. / I dropped the glass, but it didn’t break. Close call!
Other Ways to Say: That was lucky. / Just in time.
2. Spill the beans
Meaning: Accidentally tell a secret.
In a Sentence: Joey spilled the beans about the surprise party. / I didn’t mean to spill the beans about your gift.
Other Ways to Say: Let it slip. / Gave it away.
3. Crash and burn
Meaning: To completely fail or go wrong, especially suddenly.
In a Sentence: His speech started well, but then he crashed and burned.
Other Ways to Say: Fall apart / Total failure
4. Hit the skids
Meaning: To begin a rapid decline or go downhill.
In a Sentence: His career hit the skids after the scandal.
Other Ways to Say: Go downhill / Start to fail
5. A slip of the tongue
Meaning: Accidentally saying something you didn’t mean to.
In a Sentence: Calling her by the wrong name was a slip of the tongue.
Other Ways to Say: Verbal mistake / Said by accident
6. Drop the ball
Meaning: To make a careless mistake or fail at something important.
In a Sentence: I really dropped the ball on that project.
Other Ways to Say: Mess up / Make an error
7. By accident
Meaning: Unintentionally or without planning.
In a Sentence: I broke the vase by accident. / She found the old letter by accident.
Other Ways to Say: Without meaning to / Unintentionally
8. Backfire
Meaning: When something has the opposite of the intended effect.
In a Sentence: His joke backfired and made everyone upset.
Other Ways to Say: Misfire / Go wrong
9. Hit a bump in the road
Meaning: To face a small problem or setback.
In a Sentence: We hit a bump in the road with the event planning.
Other Ways to Say: Minor issue / Temporary trouble
10. Accident waiting to happen
Meaning: A situation that is likely to lead to trouble.
In a Sentence: That broken staircase is an accident waiting to happen.
Other Ways to Say: Dangerous situation / High risk
11. Come out of nowhere
Meaning: Something sudden and unexpected.
In a Sentence: The bike came out of nowhere and hit the curb.
Other Ways to Say: Suddenly appear / Without warning
12. Off guard
Meaning: Surprised or unprepared.
In a Sentence: The sudden stop caught me off guard.
Other Ways to Say: Not ready / Unexpected
13. Slip through the cracks
Meaning: To be overlooked or forgotten by accident.
In a Sentence: Her application slipped through the cracks.
Other Ways to Say: Missed / Overlooked
14. Go south
Meaning: To go badly or fail.
In a Sentence: The deal went south after the last-minute changes.
Other Ways to Say: Collapse / Go wrong
15. Fly off the handle
Meaning: To suddenly lose temper, often unexpectedly.
In a Sentence: He flew off the handle when the door slammed.
Other Ways to Say: Snap / Lose it
16. Blow a fuse
Meaning: To suddenly get very angry.
In a Sentence: She blew a fuse when her laptop crashed.
Other Ways to Say: Explode / Lose temper
17. Throw a wrench in the works
Meaning: To accidentally cause a problem in a plan.
In a Sentence: The rain threw a wrench in our outdoor party.
Other Ways to Say: Disrupt / Mess things up
18. Miss the boat
Meaning: To miss an opportunity by accident.
In a Sentence: I missed the boat on applying for that job.
Other Ways to Say: Too late / Lost the chance
19. Be in the wrong place at the wrong time
Meaning: To be somewhere when something bad accidentally happens.
In a Sentence: He got blamed because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Other Ways to Say: Unlucky / Wrong timing
20. Put your foot in your mouth
Meaning: To accidentally say something embarrassing or inappropriate.
In a Sentence: I really put my foot in my mouth at dinner.
Other Ways to Say: Say the wrong thing / Slip up
21. Knock into
Meaning: To bump someone or something by accident.
In a Sentence: I knocked into the table and spilled the juice.
Other Ways to Say: Bump / Collide
22. Come to grief
Meaning: To suffer failure or harm, often by accident.
In a Sentence: He came to grief during the mountain hike.
Other Ways to Say: Get hurt / Fail
23. Trip over
Meaning: To fall because of hitting something with your foot.
In a Sentence: She tripped over the wire and dropped her phone.
Other Ways to Say: Stumble / Fall
24. Out of the blue
Meaning: Completely unexpected.
In a Sentence: The accident happened out of the blue.
Other Ways to Say: Suddenly / Without warning
25. Hit and miss
Meaning: Unpredictable, sometimes working and sometimes not.
In a Sentence: Her driving is hit and miss.
Other Ways to Say: Inconsistent / Not reliable
26. Fall through the cracks
Meaning: To be forgotten or missed by accident.
In a Sentence: His medical file fell through the cracks.
Other Ways to Say: Be missed / Overlooked
27. Run into
Meaning: To collide with something or someone.
In a Sentence: I ran into a pole while texting.
Other Ways to Say: Crash into / Hit
28. Blow it
Meaning: To mess up a good opportunity by accident.
In a Sentence: I blew it when I forgot the interview time.
Other Ways to Say: Ruin it / Mess up
29. Have a mishap
Meaning: A small accident or mistake.
In a Sentence: We had a mishap with the cake—someone dropped it.
Other Ways to Say: Small accident / Minor error
30. Come to a screeching halt
Meaning: To stop suddenly and often dangerously.
In a Sentence: The car came to a screeching halt at the red light.
Other Ways to Say: Stop suddenly / Abrupt halt
31. Lose control
Meaning: To be unable to manage or handle something.
In a Sentence: The driver lost control on the icy road.
Other Ways to Say: Spin out / Lose grip
32. Get off track
Meaning: To accidentally lose focus or direction.
In a Sentence: We got off track while driving and ended up lost.
Other Ways to Say: Lose focus / Get distracted
33. Blurt out
Meaning: To say something suddenly without thinking.
In a Sentence: She blurted out the answer by accident.
Other Ways to Say: Say suddenly / Spill
34. Go haywire
Meaning: To malfunction or go out of control.
In a Sentence: The computer went haywire during the exam.
Other Ways to Say: Malfunction / Glitch
35. Break down
Meaning: To stop working unexpectedly.
In a Sentence: My car broke down on the way to school.
Other Ways to Say: Stop working / Fail
36. Come apart
Meaning: To fall into pieces suddenly.
In a Sentence: The chair came apart when I sat on it.
Other Ways to Say: Fall apart / Break
37. Hit the roof
Meaning: To get very angry, often from a surprising event.
In a Sentence: Dad hit the roof when I dented the car.
Other Ways to Say: Explode / Go mad
38. Knock over
Meaning: To cause something to fall by hitting it.
In a Sentence: I knocked over the lamp during the game.
Other Ways to Say: Tip over / Push down
39. Mess up
Meaning: To make a mistake or cause an accident.
In a Sentence: I messed up the report and had to redo it.
Other Ways to Say: Go wrong / Make a mistake
40. Get tangled up
Meaning: To become twisted or stuck by accident.
In a Sentence: I got tangled up in the wires behind the TV.
Other Ways to Say: Get stuck / Twisted
41. Go off track
Meaning: To deviate or stray from a plan accidentally.
In a Sentence: The train went off track near the station.
Other Ways to Say: Derail / Lose direction
42. Fall flat
Meaning: To fail or not work as intended.
In a Sentence: His joke fell flat and no one laughed.
Other Ways to Say: Fail / Bomb
43. Hit a snag
Meaning: To run into an unexpected problem.
In a Sentence: We hit a snag in the construction process.
Other Ways to Say: Encounter a problem / Delay
44. Jam up
Meaning: To get stuck or blocked unexpectedly.
In a Sentence: The printer jammed up right before class.
Other Ways to Say: Get stuck / Block
45. Trip up
Meaning: To stumble or make a mistake by accident.
In a Sentence: He tripped up on the last word of the spelling bee.
Other Ways to Say: Stumble / Slip
46. Go wrong
Meaning: To not go as planned.
In a Sentence: Everything went wrong at the wedding.
Other Ways to Say: Fail / Fall apart
47. Wreck
Meaning: To destroy something accidentally.
In a Sentence: He wrecked the model while moving it.
Other Ways to Say: Break / Smash
48. Break something
Meaning: To damage something unintentionally.
In a Sentence: I broke my glasses by sitting on them.
Other Ways to Say: Damage / Crack
49. Knock heads
Meaning: To bump heads by mistake.
In a Sentence: We both leaned in and knocked heads.
Other Ways to Say: Hit heads / Bang into each other
50. Get blindsided
Meaning: To be hit or shocked from an unexpected direction.
In a Sentence: I was blindsided by the sudden turn of events.
Other Ways to Say: Surprised / Caught off guard
