Here, you will find idioms that start with the letter R.
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Examples of Idioms Starting with R
Rain Check: a promise that an offer that cannot be accepted now will be extended in the future.
Rain On Someone’s Parade: to do something which diminishes someone’s enjoyment, excitement, or enthusiasm.
Rain Or Shine: regardless of circumstances, whether they are good or bad.
Raining Cats And Dogs: a heavy rain.
Raise Hell: to behave in a rowdy, noisy and disruptive way; to create a commotion or trouble; to loudly argue or make angry demands.
Raise the Bar:Â to set higher standards or rules than before; to make something a bit more difficult than before; to raise the quality expected.
Rarin’ To Go:Â to be very eager to begin something; extremely excited and enthusiastic about something.
Raw Deal, a: to be treated unfairly, poorly, or cruelly.
Read Between the Lines: to look for or understand a hidden meaning, information, or an implied message that is not actually stated or obvious from outward appearance.
Read Someone Like a Book:Â to understand someone completely and to be able to discern their thoughts, emotions, character, motives, desires, etc.
Rebel Without a Cause, a: a person who is extremely dissatisfied with the norms of society in general, including the government, but who doesn’t fight for any particular cause.
Red Letter Day: a day that is special, happy, pleasant, etc.; a day that is remembered fondly; a pleasurable or significant special occasion.
Reinvent the Wheel: to reinvent the wheel means to do something again, or try to improve something, that is already perfected and cannot be improved; to waste time by reproducing something that already exists.
Ride Shotgun: to ride in the front passenger seat of a car or other vehicle.
Right Off the Bat: immediately; instantly; from the very beginning.
Ring a Bell: to cause someone to remember something, although indistinctly or vaguely; to remind someone of something.
Rip Off: to steal from them; to cheat or swindle someone financially; to charge someone too much money and not give them something of equal value.
Rise and Shine: to get out of bed quickly and happily with plenty of energy; to wake up.
Rise From the Ashes: to be rebuilt or renewed and to return as new after being destroyed.
Rob Peter to Pay Paul: to borrow money from one person or institution to pay back money owed to another person; to take from one person to give to another; to shift money or resources without accomplishing any gain or benefit.
Rob Someone Blind: to steal freely from someone without immediate detection; to greatly overcharge someone for a service or item; etc.
Rob the Cradle: to date [have a romantic or sexual relationship with] or marry someone much younger than oneself.
Rock the Boat: to do something which causes trouble or upsets a stable or desirable situation.
Roll the Dice: to take a chance; to take a risk in the hopes of a fortunate result or gain.
Rub Salt in the Wound: to make a bad or painful situation worse, such as by pointing out a person’s mistakes or shortcomings, teasing, or reminding them of how bad a situation is.
Rub Someone the Wrong Way: to irritate, annoy, aggravate, or offend someone without intending to.
Rub Someone’s Nose In It: to repeatedly remind them of something they have done wrong, some painful or embarrassing fact, or a personal fault.
Rubber Check: a check drawn on a bank account lacking sufficient funds to pay it.
Rubber-Chicken Dinner: the kind of unappetizing mass-produced food typically served at banquets, especially at the kind of formal banquet dinners given by politicians for fund-raising.
Rude Awakening: the sudden awareness of something unpleasant after having mistakenly believed that everything was fine.
Ruffle Someone’s Feathers: to upset, annoy, or anger someone.
Run a Bath:Â to fill a bathtub with enough water for bathing.
Run a Fever: to have a body temperature that is higher than normal (98.6° F/37° C), usually as a result of an illness (virus, bacterial infection, etc.)
Run Across (someone):Â to meet or find someone by chance when not expecting to.
Run Across (something):Â to cross something, such as a road, by running.
Run After: to chase or pursue something or someone; to try to overtake something or someone.
Run Against: to encounter something, usually a difficulty; to work against; to oppose as a candidate for elective office.
Run Along: to leave, go away.
Run an Errand:Â to take a short trip (usually in a car) to buy something or complete some other simple task; to carry out an errand.
Run Around: to be very busy doing lots of different things; going lots of different places running errands and performing tasks, often in a rush.
Run Away: to secretly leave a place, such as one’s home, not intending to return; to flee or escape.
Run Away With (something): to take away something quickly and secretly; to steal something and escape with it hastily; to easily surpass others in some situation and win by a large margin.
Run Back: to return to someplace, such as home or work, briefly for some specific purpose; to return an item to a place or person quickly.
Run By: to run alongside or near someone or something.
Run Down: to hit someone with one’s car and knock them over, especially intentionally or due to reckless driving.
Run For It: to run from somewhere to escape captivity, or to escape danger or consequences, usually suddenly, without a plan, or before an opportunity ends.
Run In: to stop at some location and go inside only for a brief time, usually to run a quick errand such as make a purchase or drop off something; to take someone to some location of a short trip; to arrest someone and take them to jail.
Run Interference: to help someone accomplish something by dealing with potential problems so as to eliminate encumbrances or distractions; to intervene in order to help another person.
Run Into: to meet someone or find them unexpectedly, by chance; to encounter something, such as a difficulty or incur, usually expenses or debt; to collide with something; etc.
Run Into a Brick Wall: to encounter a barrier to progress that cannot be surmounted; to be stopped in one’s efforts by something.
Run Into the Ground: to manage something so badly that it is ruined and fails; to excessively and continually discuss a topic until all aspects of it are thoroughly exhausted; when an effort fails.
Run Its Course: when something has reached an endpoint or a natural conclusion without outside interference or help.
Run Low (to be running low): to be near the end of one’s supply of something; to have used most of something so that there is very little left.
Run Something By Me Again: a request to have someone remind you or refresh your memory; to tell someone something again; to repeat something one has said.
Run Something By Someone: to tell someone something, such as a plan or idea, especially in order to get their opinion.
Run the Gamut: to extend over an entire range; to experience, display, or perform the complete range of something; to include everything of a group or type.
Run the Gauntlet: to experience severe danger, criticism, difficulties, blame, abuse, etc. for a period of time; also, to have to move past a line of people trying to get your attention such as the press, admirers, fans, protestors, etc.
Running Around Like a Chicken With its Head Cut Off: rushing about and behaving in a panicked and irrational manner; someone acting in a frenzy without thinking about what he or she is doing; doing things in a hurry.
Running On Fumes: to continue to do something even though you are extremely tired and out of energy; to stay awake despite being exhausted; to continue to work or function despite dwindling resources.
Runs in the Family: a trait that is shared by many members of a family, being passed on from one generation to the next.
Rush Hour: the period in the morning and evening when people are going to and from work, and thus when the most vehicles are on the road.