Should you use idioms in IELTS Speaking? Yes, a few, where they fit. The official band descriptors ask for "some ability to use less common and idiomatic items" at band 7, and official IELTS advice warns just as clearly against idioms that "sound forced".
A common question from test-takers goes like this: an idiom list or a chatbot told them to add more idioms, and a teacher told them to stop. On GoPrep, idioms were rarely named in the AI examiner's priority fixes: 11 times in 6,064 first full Speaking mock tests with a list of fixes (28 July to 26 September 2026). Fixes for word choice or natural word pairs were listed in 25% to 58% of those tests, depending on the band.
One answer, three ways
The same Part 1 answer three times: same facts and details, different word choice. Question: Do you usually plan your weekends?
A. Plain and precise
Not really. I usually decide without planning, often on Saturday morning. Last weekend, a friend called at nine and we drove to the lake an hour later. I like it that way, because the weekend feels less like work.
B. One idiom that fits
Not really. I usually decide on the spur of the moment, often on Saturday morning. Last weekend, a friend called at nine and we drove to the lake an hour later. I like it that way, because the weekend feels less like work.
C. Forced idioms
Not really. I usually decide off the top of my head, often on Saturday morning. Last weekend, a friend called at nine and, to kill two birds with one stone, we drove to the lake an hour later. I like it that way, because variety is the spice of life and the weekend feels less like work.
A is clear and correct: you don't need an idiom to answer well. B swaps without planning for on the spur of the moment, which means the same. C goes wrong three times: off the top of my head is about answering from memory, not making plans; kill two birds with one stone needs two goals met by one action; variety is the spice of life adds no information.
What the band descriptors say about idioms
Lexical resource (your vocabulary) is one of four equally weighted Speaking criteria. Its band 6 to 9 descriptors, quoted exactly:
| Band | Descriptor | What it means for idioms |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | "Vocabulary use may be inappropriate but meaning is clear" | No idioms needed; some words don't fit |
| 7 | "Some ability to use less common and idiomatic items and an awareness of style and collocation is evident though inappropriacies occur" | Some, not many, suited to the tone and partner words. Slips allowed |
| 8 | "Skilful use of less common and idiomatic items despite occasional inaccuracies in word choice and collocation" | The right phrase, place and form |
| 9 | "Sustained use of accurate and idiomatic language" | Natural all the way through, not a showcase |
Three things in that wording matter:
- No number. No descriptor says how many idioms you need, and the examiner rates your "average performance across all parts of the test". One idiom, or one missing, never decides your band.
- Style and collocation. Style means how formal or casual a phrase sounds. A collocation is a natural word pair: heavy traffic, make a decision.
- "Inappropriacies" are named. An idiom in the wrong place is one. Band 7 allows some, but a forced idiom adds risk without adding meaning.
For how idiomatic words look inside whole answers, see our Speaking sample answers at band 6, 7 and 8.
What official IELTS advice says about idioms
Official IELTS pages give the same warning:
- IELTS and IDP (ielts.org article on idioms, first published by IDP): "be very careful not to overuse them and to make sure that the idiom matches the topic area you are speaking about. Also be careful not to use some that are overused, and sound forced."
- British Council (idioms for IELTS Speaking): "examiners look for natural collocation rather than forced memorisation; only use idioms when they fit the context of your response naturally."
The same British Council page calls idioms "essential to scoring a Band 7 or above". The descriptor itself asks for "some ability", so read idiomatic broadly: the ielts.org article treats phrasal verbs as idiomatic language too, and says collocation "is also assessed in the IELTS Speaking test". Natural word pairs (heavy traffic) and phrasal verbs (end up) count too, and you use them in almost every answer.
Idioms for IELTS Speaking by function
Common expressions grouped by what you need to do in an answer: what each means, when to use it, and an example line of ours.
Agreeing and disagreeing (Part 3)
| Phrase | Meaning / when to use it | Example line |
|---|---|---|
| That's true up to a point | Partly true. Use it when you agree only in part | That's true up to a point: online courses are cheaper, but you lose the discussion. |
| I'm in two minds about it | Unable to decide. Then weigh both sides, not just one | I'm in two minds about school uniforms. They save money, but they feel old-fashioned. |
| have a point | Say something reasonable. Use it to admit the other side is partly right | Parents have a point when they say phones distract children. |
Describing change
| Phrase | Meaning / when to use it | Example line |
|---|---|---|
| take off | Suddenly become popular or successful. Not for slow change | Food delivery really took off in my city a few years ago. |
| catch on | Become popular or widely used. Often negative: hasn't caught on | Electric scooters haven't really caught on here yet. |
| a far cry from | Very different from. Use it to compare two things, often then and now | My school today is a far cry from the one my parents went to. |
Talking about difficulty
| Phrase | Meaning / when to use it | Example line |
|---|---|---|
| a steep learning curve | A lot to learn in a short time, when something is new | My first month at work was a steep learning curve. |
| easier said than done | Sounds simple but is hard to do. Forced: no suggestion or plan to refer to | Eating healthily is easier said than done when you work late. |
| a piece of cake | Very easy. Fits a task you did; odd about a serious problem | The driving theory test was a piece of cake, but parking wasn't. |
Talking about time
| Phrase | Meaning / when to use it | Example line |
|---|---|---|
| once in a blue moon | Very rarely. Casual; odd next to exact figures such as twice a week | I only eat fast food once in a blue moon. |
| in the long run | Over a long period in the future, for results that come later | A good bike saves you money in the long run. |
| at the last minute | Just before something happens or must be done | I always pack at the last minute. |
Talking about money
| Phrase | Meaning / when to use it | Example line |
|---|---|---|
| make ends meet | Have just enough money for what you need | A lot of students work part-time to make ends meet. |
| cost an arm and a leg | Be very expensive. Casual: fine for a specific expense, not for a precise economic explanation | Concert tickets cost an arm and a leg these days. |
| good value for money | Worth the price because of its quality or usefulness | The canteen isn't fancy, but it's good value for money. |
Describing people
| Phrase | Meaning / when to use it | Example line |
|---|---|---|
| get on well with | Have a friendly relationship with someone. Remember with | I get on well with my younger brother. |
| take after | Look or behave like an older family member | I take after my dad: we're both quite quiet. |
| look up to | Admire and respect someone | I've always looked up to my aunt. |
Don't learn all 18: pick three or four that match your own stories and opinions, and practise them in full sentences.
Try it: one expression, four places
Here is in the long run in four answers. Three fit, one doesn't. Decide which before you read on.
- Part 1, Do you buy cheap or expensive shoes? Expensive ones: good shoes last for years, so they're cheaper in the long run.
- Part 2, Describe a skill you learned. Learning to type properly was slow at first, but in the long run it saved me hours.
- Part 3, Should cities spend more on public transport? Yes, because in the long run it costs less than building more roads.
- Part 1, What did you do last weekend? In the long run, I visited my grandmother.
Answer: 4. In the long run points to a result over a long period in the future. Answers 1 to 3 each have one: money saved, hours saved, lower costs. A single past visit has no later result. The part of the test didn't decide it; the meaning did.
Forced vs natural: four common mistakes
It's the same logic as in Writing, where a fancy synonym can cost marks: wrong meaning, wrong style or wrong partner words.
| Forced | Natural | What went wrong |
|---|---|---|
| My city is a melting pot of traffic jams. | My city has terrible traffic jams. | Wrong meaning: a melting pot is a mix of cultures |
| My grandfather kicked the bucket last year. | My grandfather passed away last year. | Wrong style: a joking idiom in a sad story |
| I was over the moon of my results. | I was over the moon with my results. | Wrong form: fixed phrases need their exact words |
| Unemployment is a hot potato, so the government should bite the bullet. | Unemployment is a sensitive issue, and the government needs to act, even if it's unpopular. | Two idioms stacked, and the idea gets lost |
Memorised idiom lists: what the descriptors say
The word memorised appears in the Speaking descriptors only at the bottom of the scale. At band 3, grammar errors are "numerous except in apparently memorised utterances". At band 2, speech consists "of isolated words or memorised utterances". These low-band descriptions concern speakers who can produce little language beyond memorised utterances. They do not mean that using a learned expression automatically lowers your score. Memorised language isn't mentioned at bands 4 to 9.
The British Council's Speaking preparation page says: "Examiners are trained to recognise rehearsed responses, and these can limit your score." Its idioms page adds: "Randomly memorising English idioms can easily backfire. You may end up using expressions that are outdated, uncommon, or sound unnatural."
Signs an expression may sound rehearsed:
- It arrives before the idea. You say a proverb, then look for something to attach it to.
- Your delivery changes. You pause, then say the phrase faster and flatter than the rest.
- It carries no information. Take it out, and the answer says exactly the same.
Learn expressions from real speech instead: note the whole sentence you heard, then use it about your own life until it comes out easily.
What the AI examiner flags in GoPrep data
After scoring a Speaking mock test, GoPrep's AI examiner gives a Band Contract: a short list of priority fixes. We checked how often each kind of fix was mentioned in that list in learners' first full Speaking tests.
| Priority fix | Below 6.0 / 6.0–6.5 / 7.0+ | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Word choice or word pairs | 25% / 39% / 58% | The exact word for your meaning, and its usual partner |
| Word pairs (collocation) only | 4% / 9% / 15% | heavy traffic, make a decision, good value for money |
| Filler words and phrases | 37% / 57% / 60% | um, like, you know, or a stock phrase in every gap |
| Idioms | 3 of 3,727 / 5 of 2,016 / 3 of 321 | Whether the idiom fits and is used correctly |
What the table shows, and what it doesn't:
- Idioms were rarely mentioned in the priority-fix list: 11 of 6,064 tests. Where they were, the fix was mostly about using one correctly or less often.
- Word choice fixes were listed more often at higher bands: 58% of tests at 7.0 and above. The data doesn't show why.
- What happened next. Of the 1,887 learners whose first test listed a word choice or word pair fix, 1,008 took another full Speaking mock. In 386 of the 922 next tests with a fix list (42%), that kind of fix was listed again. Lexical resource went up in 38% of the 1,008, stayed the same in 34% and went down in 28%. A fix that isn't listed again doesn't prove the problem is solved: the next test has different questions.
Categories come from the AI examiner's fix labels, so a differently worded fix may be missed. The list shows priorities, not how often an error occurred, and the bands are different groups of learners. Scores are from the GoPrep AI examiner, not official IELTS results.
Practice: fix three over-idiomatic answers
Each answer is packed with idioms. Rewrite it with real detail, keeping an idiom only if it truly fits.
1. Part 1: Do you like your hometown?
Absolutely, my hometown is the apple of my eye. It's not all sunshine and rainbows, but home is where the heart is, and every cloud has a silver lining.
2. Part 2: Describe a time you helped someone. (the start of the talk)
My neighbour was in hot water because her car broke down, so I went the extra mile and killed two birds with one stone: I drove her to work and bought bread. It was a blessing in disguise.
3. Part 3: Why do so many young people move to big cities?
Well, the grass is always greener on the other side, and young people want to spread their wings. In a nutshell, cities are where the action is, so at the end of the day it's a no-brainer.
Our versions
Written by GoPrep to show the idea, not official IELTS samples. Yours can differ and still be good.
1. Hometown
Yes, mostly. It's a small town, so everyone knows everyone, which I like. The downside is that there isn't much to do in the evenings, so I usually head to the city at weekends.
Four idioms said nothing about the town. The new answer gives facts and a reason in natural phrases: everyone knows everyone, the downside is, head to.
2. Helping a neighbour
One morning my neighbour's car wouldn't start, and she was about to be late for work, so I gave her a lift. The bakery was on the way, so I picked up some bread for both of us while I was at it.
In hot water means in trouble, usually for something you did wrong. The answer does not explain what extra effort the lift involved, and a blessing in disguise needs something bad that turned out well. The new version uses the collocation gave her a lift, the phrasal verb picked up, and the expression while I was at it.
3. Young people and cities
Mainly for work. Most well-paid jobs and universities are in big cities, so for many young people moving there is the obvious choice. Some also want to get away from their parents' rules and see how they manage on their own. That said, rents are so high that quite a few end up moving back.
The grass is always greener could fit if you mean young people idealise city life, but the answer needs to explain that idea. In a nutshell and at the end of the day filled space. Spread their wings fit; the new answer keeps that idea in plain words and adds reasons and a limit.
FAQ
Should I use idioms in IELTS Speaking?
Use a few natural ones where they fit your answer. The band 7 descriptor asks for some ability to use less common and idiomatic items with an awareness of style and collocation, and official IELTS advice warns against idioms that are overused or sound forced.
How many idioms should I use in IELTS Speaking?
There is no number. The descriptors ask for some ability at band 7 and skilful use at band 8, and the examiner rates your average performance across the whole test. A few phrases that fit naturally are better than ten that don't.
Can using idioms lower my IELTS Speaking score?
A wrong or badly placed idiom counts as an inappropriacy in Lexical resource, and it can break the flow of your answer. The British Council also says examiners are trained to recognise rehearsed responses, which can limit your score.
Where to go next
All four criteria in plain English: IELTS Speaking band descriptors. To practise agreeing and disagreeing, see IELTS Speaking Part 3.
Tell the quiz your target score and exam date, and GoPrep will build a personal study plan around them.
GoPrep Team
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We write about IELTS preparation using platform data and official exam materials.
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