Do you know what “break the ice” means? Or “spill the beans”? And when someone says “the ball is in your court”, are they really talking about a ball?

Idioms, sayings, and proverbs are an integral part of everyday English. Their meaning, however, often cannot be understood simply by translating each word. That is precisely where a good idiomatic dictionary makes all the difference.

The Dicionário Inglês-Português: Expressões, Ditados e Provérbios was developed to help readers understand these expressions in a clear, practical, and contextualized way, providing their meanings in Portuguese and showing how they are used in English

More than just translating words

An idiomatic expression can have a meaning that is completely different from what its individual words might suggest. For example:

break the ice
Literally: quebrar o gelo
Meaning: to break the ice; to start a conversation or create a more relaxed atmosphere

spill the beans
Literally: derramar os feijões
Meaning: to let the secret out; to reveal something that was supposed to remain secret

the ball is in your court
Literally: a bola está na sua quadra
Meaning: it’s up to you now; it is your turn to make the next decision or take the next step

These examples show why knowing the individual meaning of words is not always enough to understand English.

Why is an idiomatic dictionary important?

Idiomatic expressions appear constantly in conversations, movies, TV shows, books, newspapers, social media, professional documents, and legal and business texts. Someone who is unfamiliar with them may understand every word in a sentence and still not understand what the speaker actually meant.

Mastering these expressions also helps students and professionals:

• better understand texts and conversations in English;
• expand their vocabulary in a practical way;
• recognize different ways of expressing the same idea;
• translate texts with greater accuracy and naturalness;
• avoid literal translations that distort the meaning;
• communicate more naturally in English.

A dictionary for those who want to go beyond basic English

This work was designed for a broad audience. It is especially useful for:

English students who want to expand their vocabulary and better understand real English.

Teachers looking for examples and explanations to use in the classroom.

Translators and interpreters who need to identify the true meaning of an expression and find an appropriate solution in Portuguese.

Professionals and executives who deal with documents, meetings, correspondence, and business communication in English.

Readers and speakers in general who encounter unfamiliar expressions in books, movies, TV shows, news, or online.

Learning can also be an interactive experience

In addition to the dictionary, the site offers a Langage Games section designed to turn knowledge of expressions into practice.

You can test your knowledge, identify meanings, match expressions with situations, and learn in a more engaging way.

The idea is simple: not only to look up an expression, but to learn to recognize and use it.

Explore the dictionary

In the Dictionary section, you will find a wide range of English idioms, sayings, and proverbs, accompanied by their meanings in Portuguese and examples of usage.

Look up an expression you already know, search for one you have just encountered in a text, or simply explore new expressions to expand your knowledge.

Discover how native speakers really say what you want to say.

Start your search

Explore the Dicionário Inglês-Português: Expressões, Ditados e Provérbios and discover that, in English, understanding the words is often just the beginning.

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