The heart is the organ which beats and pumps blood around the body. The plural is ‘hearts’.​

heart idioms list

Let’s look at some popular body idioms that contain the word ‘heart’. It’ll break my heart if you don’t.

  • absence makes the heart grow fonder
    meaning – being away from someone you love makes you appreciate them more
    example – Stevie is going away for five weeks, we’ll see if absence makes the heart grow fonder.
  • break someone’s heart
    meaning – cause someone emotional distress/pain
    example – Our perfect cat got eaten by a crocodile today. It’s going to break the children’s hearts.
  • eat your heart out
    meaning – better than the original (usually a celebrity)
    example – Look at my quiff! Elvis Presley eat your heart out.
  • from the bottom of one’s heart
    meaning – to emphasise sincerity/honesty/truthfulness
    example – I just called to say I love you and I mean it from the bottom of my heart.
  • have a change of heart
    meaning – change your mind/opinion
    example – My boss wants to transfer me to Italy. I hope he has a change of heart, I like it here.
  • have a heart
    meaning – be kinder, more compassionate
    example – Don’t give him detention, his grandad died yesterday. Have a heart sir.
  • have one’s heart in the right place
    meaning – have good intentions
    example – Her heart is in the right place, but I need a woman with more fire in her belly.
  • heart of gold
    meaning – a kind/generous person with a big heart
    example – She may look like a witch, but she’s got a heart of gold.
  • heart sinks
    meaning – feel disappointed
    example – Jack’s heart will sink if he isn’t picked for the team
  • heart skips a beat
    meaning – the feeling of fear/nervousness/excitement
    example – My heart skipped a beat when I received a phone call from the hospital.
  • heart to heart
    meaning – an intimate conversation where you talk about feelings/personal things
    example – I had a heart to heart with Ellie, we’ve decided to put the past behind us.
  • learn off by heart
    meaning – memorise
    example – I need to learn my lines off by heart by Tuesday. We are having a dress rehearsal.
  • pour one’s heart out
    meaning – express your emotions, feelings, thoughts, or secrets to someone
    example – When I drink vodka, I always pour my heart out to a complete stranger.
  • put one’s heart and soul into something
    meaning – apply maximum effort, energy, enthusiasm, passion etc.
    example – Lexi put her heart and soul into that assignment, but the teacher only gave her a C.
  • take something to heart
    meaning – be deeply affected/hurt by criticism
    example – I called him an idiot and he took it to heart, we’re not speaking.
  • warm the cockles of one’s heart
    meaning – a warm and happy feeling
    example – I’ll tell you a story about a little girl and a homeless man. It’ll warm the cockles of your heart.
  • wear one’s heart on one’s sleeve
    meaning – openly show emotion and feeling
    example – Leon doesn’t wear his heart on his sleeve. I never know what he’s thinking or feeling.

heart idioms list with pictures

Here’s some real life picture examples.

idiomatic expressions with body parts - heart
heart idioms - absence makes the heart grow fonder
heart idioms - break someone's heart
heart idioms and expressions - eat your heart out
heart idioms - from the bottom of one’s heart
heart idioms and expressions - have a change of heart
heart idioms and expressions - have a heart
heart idioms - have one’s heart in the right place
heart idioms - heart of gold
heart idioms - heart sinks
heart idioms and expressions - heart skips a beat
heart idioms - heart to heart
heart idioms and expressions - learn off by heart
heart idioms - pour one's heart out
heart idioms and expressions - put one’s heart and soul into something
heart idioms and expressions - take something to heart
heart idioms - warm the cockles of one’s heart
heart idioms - wear one’s heart on one’s sleeve

You can download a table of ‘heart’ idioms and expressions below.

If you’ve enjoyed this page, don’t forget to check out some more body idioms by clicking on the links below.