Understanding health-related idioms and phrasal verbs can enhance your English communication, especially when discussing health and wellness. This post introduces 20 commonly used expressions, helping you to better express health-related concerns and situations in everyday conversations.
1. Under the weather
Meaning: Feeling unwell
Example: She’s feeling under the weather today.
2. In good shape
Meaning: Physically fit
Example: He is in good shape after exercising.
3. Kick the habit
Meaning: Quit a bad habit
Example: He decided to kick the smoking habit.
4. Break out
Meaning: Develop a skin condition
Example: She broke out in a rash.
5. Come down with
Meaning: Start to suffer from an illness
Example: He’s come down with a cold.
6. Fight off
Meaning: Resist an illness
Example: She’s fighting off the flu.
7. Run down
Meaning: Feeling exhausted
Example: He’s feeling run down lately.
8. Bounce back
Meaning: Recover quickly
Example: She bounced back from her illness.
9. Pass out
Meaning: Faint
Example: He passed out from the heat.
10. Pull through
Meaning: Survive a serious illness
Example: She pulled through the surgery successfully.
11. Shake off
Meaning: Get rid of an illness
Example: He can’t shake off his cold.
12. Feel up to
Meaning: Feel well enough to do something
Example: She doesn’t feel up to going out today.
13. Take a turn for the worse
Meaning: Health deteriorates
Example: His condition took a turn for the worse.
14. On the mend
Meaning: Recovering
Example: She’s on the mend after her surgery.
15. Catch a bug
Meaning: Contract a minor illness
Example: He caught a stomach bug last week.
16. Come around
Meaning: Regain consciousness
Example: He came around after fainting.
17. Let up
Meaning: Pain or symptoms decrease
Example: The pain let up after medication.
18. Come to
Meaning: Regain consciousness
Example: She came to after the accident.
19. Put on weight
Meaning: Gain weight
Example: He put on weight during the holidays.
20. Throw up
Meaning: Vomit
Example: She threw up after eating bad food.
More from this Author
Hi, I'm USMI, engdic.org's Author & Lifestyle Linguist. My decade-long journey in language and lifestyle curation fuels my passion for weaving words into everyday life. Join me in exploring the dynamic interplay between English and our diverse lifestyles. Dive into my latest insights, where language enriches every aspect of living.
