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

The heart: a vital organ, a symbol of love, and the centerpiece of countless idioms that pepper the English language. It beats, it breaks, it races, and it sings. But beyond its literal life-sustaining function, the heart has found its way into our everyday vernacular in ways that are both curious and captivating.

In this article, we’ll delve into the pulsating world of heart idioms, exploring their meanings, and the rich tapestry they weave through the fabric of our communication.

Idioms Related to Heart

Table of Contents

Heart Idioms With Meanings and Examples

A big heart

Meaning: Said of someone kind and loving
Example: Despite her own struggles, Emily always has time to help others; she truly has a big heart.

After my own heart

Meaning: Said of someone with similar preferences or values
Example: John always donates to animal shelters and adopts rescue pets; he’s truly a man after my own heart.

A heart of stone

Meaning: Said of someone without sympathy
Example: Despite the tearful pleas of the townspeople, the mayor remained unmoved, as if he had a heart of stone.

Bare (one’s) heart

Meaning: Share one’s feelings or thoughts
Example: After months of hesitation, she finally decided to bare her heart to her best friend, confessing her true feelings and fears.

Bleeding heart

Meaning: Said of someone who is conspicuously or excessively generous
Example: Despite the criticism, she remained a bleeding heart, always the first to volunteer at the shelter and give to those in need.

Break (one’s) heart

Meaning: Cause someone emotional distress
Example: Hearing the news of his old dog’s passing truly broke his heart.

By heart

Meaning: It means to learn or memorize something so well.
Example: She knew all of Shakespeare’s sonnets by heart and could recite them on demand.

Capture/steal/win (one’s) heart

Meaning: Make someone fall in love with one
Example: The moment he walked into the room with his warm smile, he captured her heart.

Close/dear/near to (one’s) heart

Meaning: Loved or valued by someone
Example: Volunteering at the animal shelter is a cause that is close to her heart.

Cross my heart

Meaning: Said as an oath to assert one’s honesty
Example: I didn’t take your favorite book—cross my heart!

Didn’t have the heart

Meaning: Said when one cannot summon the will to do something hurtful
Example: She didn’t have the heart to tell him that his pet had run away while he was on vacation.

Do (one’s) heart good

Meaning: Said about something that will be beneficial to someone
Example: Seeing the community come together to support the local food drive did my heart good.

Eat your heart out

Meaning: Said mockingly to someone expressing the desire for them to suffer; usually facetious
Example: Just scored the winning goal in the final seconds of the game—eat your heart out, rivals!

Faint of heart

Meaning: Describe someone who is not very brave or someone who is easily scared or discouraged.
Example: The horror movie was definitely not for the faint of heart, with its unexpected jump scares and intense scenes.

Find a way into/to (one’s) heart

Meaning: Cause someone to fall in love with one
Example: He knew that volunteering for the project and working hard would find a way into his boss’s heart.

Find it in (one’s) heart

Meaning: Have the compassion or courage to do something
Example: I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me for missing your birthday party.

Follow (one’s) heart

Meaning: Do what one loves rather than what is expected of one
Example: Despite everyone’s advice to take the high-paying job, she decided to follow her heart and pursue a career in the arts, which was her true passion.

From the heart

Meaning: With sincerity
Example: His apology seemed to be from the heart, so I decided to give him another chance.

Gladden the/(one’s) heart

Meaning: Make someone happy or gratified
Example: The news of her friend’s safe arrival gladdened her heart after days of worry.

Harden (one’s) heart

Meaning: Make oneself emotionally strong enough to not be affected by or to not give in to feelings of sympathy, compassion, or sentimentality.
Example: Despite the beggar’s pleas, the wealthy man hardened his heart and walked away without offering any help.

Have (one’s) heart set on

Meaning: To be firmly or very determined to obtain or achieve something that one desires deeply.
Example: She had her heart set on attending the prestigious university and worked tirelessly to meet the admission requirements.

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

Meaning: Be doing something for someone else’s benefit
Example: Even though it was hard to hear, I knew my mentor had my best interests at heart when she gave me constructive criticism on my project.

Heart goes out to

Meaning: Said in regard to feeling sympathy for someone
Example: My heart goes out to all the families affected by the devastating earthquake.

Heart in (one’s) mouth

Meaning: Said of someone who has strong emotions about someone or something
Example: As the roller coaster reached the peak and paused for a moment before the steep drop, she felt her heart in her mouth.

Heart is in the right place

Meaning: Said of someone well-intentioned
Example: Even though he accidentally donated her favorite dress to the thrift store, I know his heart is in the right place; he just wanted to help with the spring cleaning.

Heart of the matter

Meaning: Essence
Example: We discussed many aspects of the problem, but the heart of the matter is that we need to improve our communication to work more effectively as a team.

Hearts and minds

Meaning: Said in reference to persuading rather than compelling
Example: The new mayor focused on policies that would win the hearts and minds of the citizens, ensuring their trust and cooperation for the city’s development plans.

Heart’s desire

Meaning: What one wishes deeply for
Example: After years of hard work and saving, they finally bought the beach house they had longed for, their heart’s desire.

Heart skips a beat

Meaning: Said of someone excited, frightened, or surprised
Example: Her heart skipped a beat when she turned the corner and unexpectedly ran into her childhood sweetheart.

Heavy heart

Meaning: Sadness
Example: With a heavy heart, she packed up her desk after being laid off from the job she had loved for so many years.

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

Meaning: Profoundly
Example: I thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the support you’ve given me during this difficult time.

In (one’s) heart of hearts

Meaning: The most inner, true, and private feelings or beliefs that a person holds.
Example: Even though he didn’t show it, in his heart of hearts, he was devastated by the news.

Know (one’s) heart

Meaning: Be aware of one’s true feelings
Example: She knew her heart was leading her towards a career in helping others, despite the more lucrative options available to her.

Lose heart

Meaning: Become discouraged
Example: After several failed attempts to pass the driving test, he began to lose heart and wondered if he would ever get his license.

Matters/affairs of the heart

Meaning: Said of something pertaining to a love affair
Example: Despite his success in business, he found matters of the heart much more challenging to navigate.

Melt (one’s) heart

Meaning: Cause someone to experience uncontrollable emotions
Example: The way the little girl hugged her new puppy melted her mother’s heart.

Nearly gave (one) a heart attack

Meaning: Caused someone to feel anxiety or fear
Example: When the car swerved in front of me without warning, it nearly gave me a heart attack.

(One’s) heart bleeds for

Meaning: One is sympathetic
Example: Her heart bleeds for the children who have been affected by the war and are in desperate need of aid.

(One’s) heart is knocking

Meaning: Said of someone excited or nervous
Example: Every time he heard her voice, it was as if his heart was knocking, trying to escape his chest with excitement and love.

(One’s) heart is not in

Meaning: One does not feel a commitment to or an interest in
Example: She tried to continue her piano lessons, but her heart was not in it after she discovered her love for painting.

(One’s) heart leaps

Meaning: Describes a sudden burst of joy, excitement, or happiness.
Example: Her heart leaped when she saw her friend return safely from the long journey.

(One’s) heart melts

Meaning: A strong sense of affection, tenderness, or compassion, often in response to something endearing or touching.
Example: Every time the baby giggled, her heart melted with love and joy.

(One’s) heart sinks

Meaning: One becomes discouraged
Example: Her heart sank when she read the rejection letter from her first-choice university.

Open (one’s) heart

Meaning: Show generosity or kindness
Example: He decided to open his heart to his friend, revealing his hopes and fears about the future.

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

Meaning: Do something motivated by genuine compassion or altruism, without expecting anything in return.
Example: She offered to babysit her neighbor’s children for free out of the kindness of her heart, knowing the family was going through a tough time.

Put (one’s) heart into

Meaning: Do something with conviction or enthusiasm
Example: He put his heart into the project, working late nights and weekends to ensure its success.

Sick at heart

Meaning: A feeling of deep sorrow, distress, or disappointment.
Example: After hearing the tragic news, she felt sick at heart and struggled to come to terms with the reality of the situation.

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

Meaning: Cause someone to be afraid
Example: The sudden, eerie howling of wolves in the night struck fear into the hearts of the campers.

Take heart

Meaning: To gain courage or confidence in a difficult situation or when facing adversity.
Example: Even though the initial results were not promising, the research team took heart from the small improvements they observed as the experiment progressed.

Take (something) to heart

Meaning: Be affected by something
Example: She took the feedback to heart and worked diligently to improve her performance for the next presentation.

To (one’s) heart’s content

Meaning: To do something as much as one wishes, to the point of complete satisfaction.
Example: He had always wanted to visit the candy store, and once inside, he sampled sweets to his heart’s content.

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

Meaning: Cause someone to feel positive emotion
Example: Seeing the community come together to help those in need warmed the cockles of her heart.

Wear (one’s) heart on (one’s) sleeve

Meaning: Openly show one’s emotions
Example: John wears his heart on his sleeve, so you always know when he’s upset or overjoyed.

With a sinking heart

Meaning: Said of someone who becomes discouraged or hopeless
Example: With a sinking heart, she read the cancellation notice of the flight she had been looking forward to for months.

With all (one’s) heart