50 Idioms for Water with Meaning & Sentences
Idioms for Water
1. Water under the bridge
Meaning: Something that happened in the past and is no longer important or relevant.
In a Sentence: That argument we had last week is water under the bridge now.
Other Ways to Say: Past is past, Ancient history.
2. Keep your head above water
Meaning: To manage to survive financially or emotionally during a difficult time.
In a Sentence: With two jobs, Sarah struggles to keep her head above water.
Other Ways to Say: Stay afloat, Manage to cope.
3. In hot water
Meaning: In trouble or facing difficulties.
In a Sentence: He found himself in hot water after forgetting his anniversary.
Other Ways to Say: In trouble, In a tight spot.
4. Test the waters
Meaning: To try something before fully committing.
In a Sentence: She tested the waters with a few blog posts before launching her site.
Other Ways to Say: Try out, Experiment.
5. Blow something out of the water
Meaning: To completely defeat or surpass something.
In a Sentence: Their new product blew the competitors out of the water.
Other Ways to Say: Outperform, Crush.
6. Blood is thicker than water
Meaning: Family relationships are stronger than others.
In a Sentence: He chose to help his brother—blood is thicker than water.
Other Ways to Say: Family first, Kin before all.
7. Dead in the water
Meaning: Unable to progress or succeed.
In a Sentence: Without funding, the app idea is dead in the water.
Other Ways to Say: Stalled, Going nowhere.
8. Pour cold water on
Meaning: To discourage or dampen enthusiasm.
In a Sentence: She poured cold water on our celebration by mentioning the deadline.
Other Ways to Say: Discourage, Dampen excitement.
9. Still waters run deep
Meaning: Quiet people often have deep thoughts.
In a Sentence: He rarely speaks, but still waters run deep.
Other Ways to Say: Silent but wise, Reserved yet thoughtful.
10. In deep water
Meaning: In serious trouble.
In a Sentence: She’s in deep water over the missing reports.
Other Ways to Say: In hot soup, In a mess.
11. Make waves
Meaning: Cause disruption or attention.
In a Sentence: He’s making waves with his bold new ideas.
Other Ways to Say: Stir things up, Be noticed.
12. Tread water
Meaning: Maintain position without making progress.
In a Sentence: I’m just treading water in this job.
Other Ways to Say: Stagnating, Staying afloat.
13. Come hell or high water
Meaning: No matter what happens.
In a Sentence: I’ll be there for you, come hell or high water.
Other Ways to Say: No matter what, Regardless of obstacles.
14. Like a duck to water
Meaning: Learn something quickly and naturally.
In a Sentence: She took to coding like a duck to water.
Other Ways to Say: Instantly skilled, Natural talent.
15. Blow off steam
Meaning: Release built-up stress.
In a Sentence: He goes jogging to blow off steam after work.
Other Ways to Say: Let off steam, Relax.
16. Like water off a duck’s back
Meaning: Unaffected by criticism.
In a Sentence: Insults bounce off her like water off a duck’s back.
Other Ways to Say: Unbothered, Let it slide.
17. A fish out of water
Meaning: Someone uncomfortable in a situation.
In a Sentence: I felt like a fish out of water at the fancy dinner.
Other Ways to Say: Out of place, Awkward.
18. Water down
Meaning: To reduce strength or effectiveness.
In a Sentence: They watered down the proposal to please everyone.
Other Ways to Say: Soften, Tone down.
19. Come up for air
Meaning: Take a break.
In a Sentence: After hours of work, I finally came up for air.
Other Ways to Say: Take a breather, Pause.
20. Clear as water
Meaning: Very easy to understand.
In a Sentence: The instructions were as clear as water.
Other Ways to Say: Crystal clear, Obvious.
21. Like trying to hold water
Meaning: Difficult to control or manage.
In a Sentence: Keeping secrets from her is like trying to hold water.
Other Ways to Say: Impossible to manage, Uncontainable.
22. Carry water for someone
Meaning: To support someone blindly.
In a Sentence: He’s always carrying water for his boss.
Other Ways to Say: Defend blindly, Be loyal to a fault.
23. Smooth as glass
Meaning: Very calm and still (especially water).
In a Sentence: The lake was smooth as glass that morning.
Other Ways to Say: Calm, Serene.
24. Drown in work
Meaning: Overwhelmed with tasks.
In a Sentence: I’m drowning in emails today.
Other Ways to Say: Swamped, Buried in work.
25. Go with the flow
Meaning: Adapt to situations easily.
In a Sentence: I just go with the flow when things change.
Other Ways to Say: Stay flexible, Adapt easily.
26. Dry up
Meaning: End or be used up.
In a Sentence: The funding dried up quickly.
Other Ways to Say: Run out, Disappear.
27. Run deep
Meaning: Be profound or intense.
In a Sentence: His passion for music runs deep.
Other Ways to Say: Deep-rooted, Intense.
28. Rain on your parade
Meaning: To spoil something.
In a Sentence: She rained on my parade by criticizing my idea.
Other Ways to Say: Spoil the mood, Burst the bubble.
29. Rise above
Meaning: To overcome a challenge.
In a Sentence: She rose above the criticism.
Other Ways to Say: Overcome, Triumph.
30. Sink or swim
Meaning: Succeed or fail on your own.
In a Sentence: In a startup, it’s sink or swim.
Other Ways to Say: All or nothing, Make it or break it.
31. Hold water
Meaning: Be logically sound.
In a Sentence: His argument just doesn’t hold water.
Other Ways to Say: Not convincing, Flawed logic.
32. Lost at sea
Meaning: Confused or unsure.
In a Sentence: I’m lost at sea with these instructions.
Other Ways to Say: Puzzled, Clueless.
33. Bridge over troubled water
Meaning: A comforting solution in difficult times.
In a Sentence: Her support was a bridge over troubled water.
Other Ways to Say: Lifeline, Relief.
34. Boil over
Meaning: Emotions becoming uncontrollable.
In a Sentence: His anger boiled over during the meeting.
Other Ways to Say: Explode, Lose control.
35. A drop in the ocean
Meaning: A very small amount compared to what is needed.
In a Sentence: My savings are just a drop in the ocean of expenses.
Other Ways to Say: Insignificant, Tiny contribution.
36. Skating on thin ice
Meaning: In a risky situation.
In a Sentence: Lying to her parents is skating on thin ice.
Other Ways to Say: Taking a risk, Playing with fire.
37. Wet behind the ears
Meaning: Inexperienced.
In a Sentence: He’s still wet behind the ears in this field.
Other Ways to Say: Green, Newbie.
38. Spill the water
Meaning: Reveal a secret (variation of spill the beans).
In a Sentence: Don’t spill the water about our surprise plan.
Other Ways to Say: Leak, Tell on someone.
39. Underwater
Meaning: In financial trouble.
In a Sentence: Their mortgage is underwater after property prices dropped.
Other Ways to Say: In debt, Financially struggling.
40. Break the surface
Meaning: Become visible or known.
In a Sentence: Her creativity just started to break the surface.
Other Ways to Say: Emerge, Appear.
41. Let it sink in
Meaning: Allow information to be absorbed.
In a Sentence: Give it time to sink in before reacting.
Other Ways to Say: Process it, Think it through.
42. Ice water in their veins
Meaning: Calm and unshaken under pressure.
In a Sentence: He has ice water in his veins during crises.
Other Ways to Say: Cool-headed, Calm under fire.
43. Like oil and water
Meaning: Not compatible.
In a Sentence: They’re like oil and water—always clashing.
Other Ways to Say: Don’t mix, Unmatched.
44. Bubble to the surface
Meaning: Emerge or become obvious.
In a Sentence: His emotions bubbled to the surface during the speech.
Other Ways to Say: Show up, Become visible.
45. A sea change
Meaning: A major transformation.
In a Sentence: There’s been a sea change in company culture.
Other Ways to Say: Huge shift, Total turnaround.
46. A rising tide lifts all boats
Meaning: Improvements help everyone.
In a Sentence: A growing economy lifts all boats.
Other Ways to Say: Collective benefit, Shared success.
47. Ride the wave
Meaning: Take advantage of a trend.
In a Sentence: They’re riding the wave of AI technology.
Other Ways to Say: Go with the trend, Capitalize on momentum.
48. Throw cold water on
Meaning: Disapprove or discourage.
In a Sentence: He threw cold water on our plan.
Other Ways to Say: Dismiss, Reject.
49. Calm before the storm
Meaning: Peace before chaos.
In a Sentence: It was the calm before the storm at the office.
Other Ways to Say: Quiet phase, Temporary peace.
50. Flow with it
Meaning: Accept and adapt to changes.
In a Sentence: Instead of resisting, I’ve learned to just flow with it.
Other Ways to Say: Adjust, Move with the current.
