Heart Idioms | 55+ Important Idioms about Heart for ESL Students

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Heart Idioms and Expressions for ESL Students! Learn a list of common idioms related to Heart with meaning and examples in English with ESL infographic.

Idioms Related to Heart

Heart Idioms

A big heart

• Meaning: Said of someone kind and loving

After my own heart

• Meaning: Said of someone with similar preferences or values

A heart of stone

• Meaning: Said of someone without sympathy

Bare (one’s) heart

• Meaning: Share one’s feelings or thoughts

Bleeding heart

• Meaning: Said of someone who is conspicuously or excessively generous

Break (one’s) heart

• Meaning: Cause someone emotional distress

By heart

• Meaning: From memory

Capture/steal/win (one’s) heart

• Meaning: Make someone fall in love with one

Close/dear/near to (one’s) heart

• Meaning: Loved or valued by someone

Cross my heart

• Meaning: Said as an oath to assert one’s honesty

Didn’t have the heart

• Meaning: Said when one cannot summon the will to do something hurtful

Do (one’s) heart good

• Meaning: Said about something that will be beneficial to someone

Eat your heart out

• Meaning: Said mockingly to someone expressing the desire for them to suffer; usually facetious

Faint of heart

• Meaning: Lacking courage

Find a way into/to (one’s) heart

• Meaning: Cause someone to fall in love with one

Find it in (one’s) heart

• Meaning: Have the compassion or courage to do something

Follow (one’s) heart

• Meaning: Do what one loves rather than what is expected of one

From the heart

• Meaning: With sincerity

Gladden the/(one’s) heart

• Meaning: Make someone happy or gratified

Harden (one’s) heart

• Meaning: Become callous

Have (one’s) heart set on

• Meaning: Be obsessed with obtaining

Have (one’s) (best) interests at heart

• Meaning: Be doing something for someone else’s benefit

Heart goes out to

• Meaning: Said in regard to feeling sympathy for someone

Heart in (one’s) mouth

• Meaning: Said of someone who has strong emotions about someone or something

Heart is in the right place

• Meaning: Said of someone well-intentioned

Heart of the matter

• Meaning: Essence

Hearts and minds

• Meaning: Said in reference to persuading rather than compelling

Heart’s desire

• Meaning: What one wishes deeply for

Heart skips a beat

• Meaning: Said of someone excited, frightened, or surprised

Heavy heart

• Meaning: Sadness

From the bottom/depths of (one’s) heart

• Meaning: Profoundly

In (one’s) heart of hearts

• Meaning: If one’s true feelings or thoughts were known

Know (one’s) heart

• Meaning: Be aware of one’s true feelings

Lose heart

• Meaning: Become discouraged

Matters/affairs of the heart

• Meaning: Said of something pertaining to a love affair

Melt (one’s) heart

• Meaning: Cause someone to experience uncontrollable emotions

Nearly gave (one) a heart attack

• Meaning: Caused someone to feel anxiety or fear

(One’s) heart bleeds for

• Meaning: One is sympathetic

(One’s) heart is knocking

• Meaning: Said of someone excited or nervous

(One’s) heart is not in

• Meaning: One does not feel a commitment to or an interest in

(One’s) heart leaps

• Meaning: One is excited

(One’s) heart melts

• Meaning: See “melt someone’s heart”

(One’s) heart sinks

• Meaning: One becomes discouraged

Open (one’s) heart

• Meaning: Show generosity or kindness

Out of the goodness/kindness of (one’s) heart

• Meaning: Because of generosity or goodwill

Put (one’s) heart into

• Meaning: Do something with conviction or enthusiasm

Sick at heart

• Meaning: Discouraged

Strike fear into (one’s) heart/into the heart of (one)

• Meaning: Cause someone to be afraid

Take heart

• Meaning: Be encouraged

Take (something) to heart

• Meaning: Be affected by something

To (one’s) heart’s content

• Meaning: To the extent one desires

Warm (one’s)/the cockles of (one’s) heart

• Meaning: Cause someone to feel positive emotion

Wear (one’s) heart on (one’s) sleeve

• Meaning: Openly show one’s emotions

With a sinking heart

• Meaning: Said of someone who becomes discouraged or hopeless

With all (one’s) heart

• Meaning: With great enthusiasm

Young at heart

• Meaning: Youthful

Idioms Related to Heart | Infographic