50 Idioms for Working Hard With Meanings & Sentences
Idioms for Working Hard
1 . Burn the midnight oil
Meaning: To work late into the night.
In a Sentence: She burned the midnight oil to finish the project on time.
Other Ways to Say: Work late, Stay up working.
2. Put your nose to the grindstone
Meaning: Working hard and diligently.
In a Sentence: Jack puts his nose to the grindstone every day to improve his basketball skills.
Other Ways to Say: Working tirelessly, Putting in the effort.
3. Break your back
Meaning: To work extremely hard.
In a Sentence: He broke his back trying to get everything done before the deadline.
Other Ways to Say: Strain yourself, Give it your all.
4. Nose to the grindstone
Meaning: Working hard without rest.
In a Sentence: My mom always has her nose to the grindstone to provide for our family.
Other Ways to Say: Hard at work, Focused on the task at hand.
5. Give it your all
Meaning: To put in maximum effort.
In a Sentence: She gave it her all during the job interview.
Other Ways to Say: Go all out, Do your best.
6. Go the extra mile
Meaning: To do more than what is expected.
In a Sentence: He always goes the extra mile to impress his boss.
Other Ways to Say: Exceed expectations, Overachieve.
7. Keep your shoulder to the wheel
Meaning: To keep working hard without giving up.
In a Sentence: Even during hard times, he kept his shoulder to the wheel.
Other Ways to Say: Push forward, Stay committed.
8. Put in the hours
Meaning: To work for a long time.
In a Sentence: She put in the hours to master the new software.
Other Ways to Say: Work overtime, Invest time.
9. Sweat blood
Meaning: To work extremely hard.
In a Sentence: They sweat blood to win the contract.
Other Ways to Say: Work like a dog, Push oneself.
10. Bust your chops
Meaning: To work very hard or put in a lot of effort.
In a Sentence: He busted his chops to make the new campaign a success.
Other Ways to Say: Push hard, Grind.
11. Pull your weight
Meaning: To do your fair share of the work.
In a Sentence: Everyone needs to pull their weight for the team to succeed.
Other Ways to Say: Do your part, Contribute equally.
12. All hands on deck
Meaning: Everyone must help or contribute to the work.
In a Sentence: With the big order coming in, it’s all hands on deck.
Other Ways to Say: Full team effort, Everyone involved.
13. Keep your nose clean
Meaning: Stay out of trouble and focus on working hard.
In a Sentence: He’s been keeping his nose clean since he started the new job.
Other Ways to Say: Stay disciplined, Remain focused.
14. Slave away
Meaning: To work extremely hard for long hours.
In a Sentence: She slaved away to prepare the presentation.
Other Ways to Say: Work to the bone, Toil.
15. Bend over backwards
Meaning: To make a great effort to help or achieve something.
In a Sentence: He bent over backwards to meet the deadline.
Other Ways to Say: Go all out, Try hard.
16. Keep plugging away
Meaning: To continue working steadily.
In a Sentence: Even with setbacks, she kept plugging away at the report.
Other Ways to Say: Persist, Stay consistent.
17. Work your fingers to the bone
Meaning: To work extremely hard.
In a Sentence: They worked their fingers to the bone to meet the quota.
Other Ways to Say: Exhaust oneself, Work tirelessly.
18. Dig in your heels
Meaning: To work hard and resist quitting.
In a Sentence: Despite the challenges, he dug in his heels and kept going.
Other Ways to Say: Stay firm, Persevere.
19. Roll up your sleeves
Meaning: Prepare to work hard.
In a Sentence: Let’s roll up our sleeves and finish this project.
Other Ways to Say: Get to work, Start working hard.
20. Burn the candle at both ends
Meaning: Work hard for long hours, day and night.
In a Sentence: She’s burning the candle at both ends trying to balance two jobs.
Other Ways to Say: Overwork, Push to the limit.
21. Grind away
Meaning: Work steadily and hard.
In a Sentence: He grinds away at his desk every day without complaint.
Other Ways to Say: Labor on, Keep at it.
22. In the trenches
Meaning: Doing hard, often unrecognized work.
In a Sentence: The assistants are really in the trenches handling customer service.
Other Ways to Say: Behind the scenes, Ground-level work.
23. Push the envelope
Meaning: Work hard to go beyond limits.
In a Sentence: The team pushed the envelope to innovate the product.
Other Ways to Say: Challenge limits, Break new ground.
24. Back to the grind
Meaning: Returning to hard work after a break.
In a Sentence: Monday morning means back to the grind.
Other Ways to Say: Resume work, Return to routine.
25. Carry the load
Meaning: To do most of the work.
In a Sentence: She carried the load during the group project.
Other Ways to Say: Take responsibility, Do the heavy lifting.
26. Get your hands dirty
Meaning: Be involved in the hard or unpleasant work.
In a Sentence: The manager wasn’t afraid to get his hands dirty.
Other Ways to Say: Be hands-on, Join the hard work.
27. Sweat it out
Meaning: Endure a tough task with effort.
In a Sentence: They had to sweat it out during the audit.
Other Ways to Say: Work through, Grind.
28. On the grind
Meaning: Constantly working or hustling.
In a Sentence: He’s been on the grind since launching his business.
Other Ways to Say: Hustling, Always working.
29. Keep at it
Meaning: Persist in hard work.
In a Sentence: Don’t give up—just keep at it!
Other Ways to Say: Stay the course, Continue trying.
30. Blood, sweat, and tears
Meaning: Intense effort and sacrifice.
In a Sentence: The book was written with blood, sweat, and tears.
Other Ways to Say: Tireless effort, Full dedication.
31. Hit the ground running
Meaning: Start working hard immediately.
In a Sentence: She hit the ground running on her first day.
Other Ways to Say: Start fast, Dive in.
32. Hammer away at
Meaning: Work persistently on something.
In a Sentence: He kept hammering away at his idea until it worked.
Other Ways to Say: Keep trying, Push through.
33. Knock yourself out
Meaning: Work extremely hard, often to exhaustion.
In a Sentence: She knocked herself out preparing for the show.
Other Ways to Say: Tire yourself out, Work intensely.
34. Be snowed under
Meaning: Overwhelmed with work.
In a Sentence: I’m snowed under with tasks today.
Other Ways to Say: Swamped, Buried in work.
35. No pain, no gain
Meaning: Hard work is necessary for success.
In a Sentence: He believes in no pain, no gain at the gym.
Other Ways to Say: Hard work pays off, Endure to succeed.
36. Stay the course
Meaning: Continue with hard work despite difficulty.
In a Sentence: It’s tough, but we have to stay the course.
Other Ways to Say: Keep going, Don’t give up.
37. Hit the books
Meaning: To study hard.
In a Sentence: Time to hit the books for tomorrow’s exam.
Other Ways to Say: Study hard, Review materials.
38. Burn out
Meaning: Exhaust from overworking.
In a Sentence: He burned out after working 80 hours a week.
Other Ways to Say: Overwork, Exhaust oneself.
39. Dig deep
Meaning: Find inner strength to work harder.
In a Sentence: We had to dig deep to finish before the storm.
Other Ways to Say: Push through, Find strength.
40. Work like a dog
Meaning: To work extremely hard.
In a Sentence: She worked like a dog to pay off her loans.
Other Ways to Say: Labor intensely, Put in effort.
41. Put in elbow grease
Meaning: Use physical effort.
In a Sentence: It took some elbow grease to clean that kitchen.
Other Ways to Say: Work hard, Scrub hard.
42. Keep grinding
Meaning: Continue working despite tiredness.
In a Sentence: He kept grinding even after a 12-hour shift.
Other Ways to Say: Push forward, Stay at it.
43. Tackle head-on
Meaning: Address a task with full effort.
In a Sentence: She tackled the assignment head-on.
Other Ways to Say: Face directly, Take charge.
44. Toil away
Meaning: Work hard over time.
In a Sentence: He toiled away in the workshop for days.
Other Ways to Say: Labor, Work continuously.
45. Fill big shoes
Meaning: Work hard to meet high expectations.
In a Sentence: He worked hard to fill his predecessor’s shoes.
Other Ways to Say: Live up to standards, Meet expectations.
46. Be flat out
Meaning: Be extremely busy or working at full speed.
In a Sentence: We were flat out all week finishing orders.
Other Ways to Say: Fully occupied, Maxed out.
47. Carry the torch
Meaning: Continue the hard work started by others.
In a Sentence: She carried the torch for her family’s legacy.
Other Ways to Say: Continue the mission, Uphold the work.
48. Plow through
Meaning: Push through work quickly and persistently.
In a Sentence: He plowed through the files to meet the deadline.
Other Ways to Say: Push ahead, Get through.
49. Slave to the grind
Meaning: Constantly working hard, often repetitively.
In a Sentence: I feel like a slave to the grind lately.
Other Ways to Say: Always working, Caught in routine.
50. Put heart and soul into it
Meaning: Work with full passion and effort.
In a Sentence: She put her heart and soul into the business.
Other Ways to Say: Give your best, Full dedication.
