An
idiom (, "special property", from , "special feature, special phrasing, a peculiarity", f. , "one’s own") is a
phrase or a
fixed expression that has a
figurative, or sometimes literal,
meaning. An idiom's figurative meaning is different from the
literal meaning. There are thousands of idioms, and they occur frequently in all languages. It is estimated that there are at least twenty-five thousand idiomatic expressions in the
English language. Idioms fall into the category of
formulaic language.