Pain is something we all feel at times. It can be in our bodies, like a headache or a scraped knee. It can also be in our hearts, like when we feel sad or hurt by others. People don’t always say, “I’m in pain.” Instead, they use special phrases to talk about how they feel. These phrases are called idioms.
Idioms for pain are used to make language more interesting. They help people talk about their feelings in fun or clever ways. For example, someone might say, “That test was a real pain in the neck!” They don’t mean their neck hurts. They just mean it was hard or annoying. In this article, we will learn about idioms that people use to describe pain. These will help you understand others better and maybe even help you talk about your own feelings too.
Idioms for Pain
1. Pain in the neck
Meaning: Something or someone very annoying
Give an Instance: Homework every night is a real pain in the neck. / My little brother can be a pain in the neck sometimes.
Substitute Meaning: Super annoying / Hard to deal with
2. Feel under the weather
Meaning: Feeling sick
Give an Instance: I felt under the weather, so I stayed home from school. / She didn’t play at recess because she was under the weather.
Substitute Meaning: Feeling sick / Not well
3. Hurt like crazy
Meaning: Hurts a lot
Give an Instance: My arm hurt like crazy after the shot. / That fall hurt like crazy!
Substitute Meaning: Really painful / Hurts a lot
4. Twist the knife
Meaning: Make someone feel worse
Give an Instance: He already felt bad, and her joke twisted the knife. / Losing the game and hearing them laugh twisted the knife.
Substitute Meaning: Made it worse / Added more hurt
5. Break one’s heart
Meaning: Cause deep sadness
Give an Instance: It broke my heart to say goodbye to my dog. / Her story broke everyone’s heart.
Substitute Meaning: Made very sad / Hurt deeply
6. Rub salt in the wound
Meaning: Make someone feel worse after something bad
Give an Instance: Telling me I failed after I tried hard just rubbed salt in the wound. / Laughing at my mistake rubbed salt in the wound.
Substitute Meaning: Make it worse / Add to the pain
7. Cry one’s eyes out
Meaning: Cry very hard
Give an Instance: She cried her eyes out when her fish died. / I cried my eyes out after the sad movie.
Substitute Meaning: Cried a lot / Was very sad
8. A stabbing pain
Meaning: A sharp, sudden pain
Give an Instance: I felt a stabbing pain in my side after running. / She had a stabbing pain in her foot.
Substitute Meaning: Sharp pain / Quick hurt
9. Throbbing pain
Meaning: Pain that comes in strong waves
Give an Instance: My toe had a throbbing pain after I bumped it. / His headache was throbbing all night.
Substitute Meaning: Beating pain / Pulsing hurt
10. Scream in pain
Meaning: Yell because something hurts
Give an Instance: He screamed in pain after stepping on a nail. / I screamed in pain when I twisted my ankle.
Substitute Meaning: Yell loudly from hurt / Very painful
11. Be sore
Meaning: Feel pain after using your body
Give an Instance: My legs were sore after the hike. / I was sore from gym class.
Substitute Meaning: Achy / Stiff from activity
12. A pain that won’t quit
Meaning: Pain that keeps going
Give an Instance: I had a pain that wouldn’t quit in my tooth. / My back had a pain that wouldn’t go away.
Substitute Meaning: Long-lasting pain / Won’t stop hurting
13. Feel the sting
Meaning: Feel a sharp or emotional pain
Give an Instance: I felt the sting of the bee. / His mean words made me feel the sting.
Substitute Meaning: Sharp hurt / Emotional pain
14. Be in agony
Meaning: Be in very bad pain
Give an Instance: He was in agony after breaking his leg. / I was in agony waiting for the doctor.
Substitute Meaning: Terrible pain / Severe hurt
15. Have a heavy heart
Meaning: Feel very sad
Give an Instance: I had a heavy heart when my best friend moved. / She walked away with a heavy heart.
Substitute Meaning: Feeling low / Deep sadness
16. Be all aches and pains
Meaning: Body hurts all over
Give an Instance: After soccer, I was all aches and pains. / Grandpa says he’s all aches and pains in the morning.
Substitute Meaning: Everything hurts / Sore everywhere
17. Give someone a headache
Meaning: Make someone stressed or annoyed
Give an Instance: All that noise gave me a headache. / The hard math gave me a headache.
Substitute Meaning: Too much / Stressful
18. Cut to the bone
Meaning: Hurt someone’s feelings very deeply
Give an Instance: What she said cut me to the bone. / His words cut to the bone.
Substitute Meaning: Deeply hurt / Very painful
19. Grin and bear it
Meaning: Deal with pain or trouble without complaining
Give an Instance: I had to grin and bear it during my dentist visit. / She grinned and bore the pain from her scraped knee.
Substitute Meaning: Stay strong / Don’t complain
20. Feel like a punch in the gut
Meaning: Feel sudden emotional pain
Give an Instance: Losing the contest felt like a punch in the gut. / His mean words felt like a punch in the gut.
Substitute Meaning: Big emotional hurt / Felt awful
21. A pain in the side
Meaning: A sharp pain from exercise or laughing
Give an Instance: I got a pain in the side from running too fast. / She had a pain in her side from laughing too hard.
Substitute Meaning: Side ache / Cramp
22. Hurt one’s pride
Meaning: Feel bad after being embarrassed
Give an Instance: Falling in front of the class hurt my pride. / Losing the game hurt his pride.
Substitute Meaning: Felt embarrassed / Lost confidence
23. Have butterflies in the stomach
Meaning: Nervous feeling that can be uncomfortable
Give an Instance: I had butterflies in my stomach before the play. / She felt butterflies before the spelling bee.
Substitute Meaning: Nervous / Jumpy feeling
24. Get burned
Meaning: Get hurt emotionally
Give an Instance: I got burned when my friend left me out. / He felt burned after hearing the bad news.
Substitute Meaning: Felt hurt / Emotionally stung
25. A burning pain
Meaning: A hot, strong pain
Give an Instance: I had a burning pain on my hand from the stove. / The sun gave me a burning pain on my skin.
Substitute Meaning: Hot and painful / Stinging hurt
26. Hit a nerve
Meaning: Say something that causes emotional pain
Give an Instance: Her comment really hit a nerve. / That joke hit a nerve and made him sad.
Substitute Meaning: Hurt feelings / Struck a sore spot
27. Be in bad shape
Meaning: Feeling hurt or weak
Give an Instance: After the fall, he was in bad shape. / I was in bad shape after staying up too late.
Substitute Meaning: Not doing well / Hurt or sick
28. Knock the wind out of someone
Meaning: Take someone’s breath away with pain
Give an Instance: Falling off the swing knocked the wind out of me. / The hit knocked the wind out of him.
Substitute Meaning: Lost breath / Sudden shock
29. Tear-jerker
Meaning: Something that makes you cry
Give an Instance: That movie was a real tear-jerker. / The book about the lost puppy was a tear-jerker.
Substitute Meaning: Sad story / Made me cry
30. Cry like a baby
Meaning: Cry very loudly
Give an Instance: I cried like a baby after I scraped my knee. / He cried like a baby when his toy broke.
Substitute Meaning: Sobbed / Cried hard
31. Like pulling teeth
Meaning: Very hard and painful to do
Give an Instance: Cleaning my room is like pulling teeth. / Getting him to do homework is like pulling teeth.
Substitute Meaning: Really hard / Feels painful
32. Take a hit
Meaning: Suffer or get hurt
Give an Instance: My feelings took a hit after the argument. / He took a hit when he lost the game.
Substitute Meaning: Got hurt / Felt bad
33. In no shape
Meaning: Not able to do something because of pain or trouble
Give an Instance: I was in no shape to run after spraining my ankle. / She was in no shape to play after being sick.
Substitute Meaning: Not ready / Too hurt
34. Get one’s feelings hurt
Meaning: Feel sad from what someone said or did
Give an Instance: I got my feelings hurt when no one picked me. / He got his feelings hurt after the joke.
Substitute Meaning: Felt left out / Sad
35. On pins and needles
Meaning: Feeling nervous or worried pain
Give an Instance: I was on pins and needles waiting for the results. / She was on pins and needles before her speech.
Substitute Meaning: Very nervous / Jumpy
36. Limp along
Meaning: Keep going even when hurt
Give an Instance: I limped along after twisting my ankle. / He limped along through the game even though he was sore.
Substitute Meaning: Barely moving / Struggling
37. Carry emotional baggage
Meaning: Still feeling pain from the past
Give an Instance: She carries emotional baggage from losing her pet. / He carries emotional baggage from moving schools.
Substitute Meaning: Past pain / Sad memories
38. Heart skips a beat
Meaning: Feel strong emotion like fear or sadness
Give an Instance: My heart skipped a beat when I saw the test score. / Her heart skipped a beat when she saw the sad letter.
Substitute Meaning: Shocked / Surprised by emotion
39. It stings
Meaning: Hurts suddenly, emotionally or physically
Give an Instance: That bee sting really stings! / His words sting when he’s mad.
Substitute Meaning: Sharp hurt / Feels bad
40. Be torn up
Meaning: Very upset or hurt
Give an Instance: She was torn up after her dog ran away. / He was torn up about the lost game.
Substitute Meaning: Very sad / Really hurt
41. Pain written all over one’s face
Meaning: You can clearly see someone is hurting
Give an Instance: I could see the pain written all over her face. / He had pain written all over his face after the fall.
Substitute Meaning: It shows / Looks hurt
42. Hurt to the core
Meaning: Deeply hurt inside
Give an Instance: I was hurt to the core when my best friend ignored me. / That comment hurt him to the core.
Substitute Meaning: Very deeply hurt / Truly sad
43. Ache for something
Meaning: Want something badly, sometimes with pain
Give an Instance: I ache for summer to be here. / She aches for her old home.
Substitute Meaning: Really want / Miss deeply
44. Brought to tears
Meaning: Made to cry
Give an Instance: His kindness brought me to tears. / That story brought her to tears.
Substitute Meaning: Made cry / Very emotional
45. Hurt like the dickens
Meaning: Hurts a lot
Give an Instance: That paper cut hurt like the dickens! / His toe hurt like the dickens after he stubbed it.
Substitute Meaning: Really painful / Hurt badly
Find the “Idioms for Pain”
Reading passage
Recess is usually fun, but today was different. Jamie was feeling under the weather, so she sat on the bench while her friends played soccer. Max kicked the ball hard, and it hit her knee. She screamed in pain and had a burning pain on her leg.
Later, when her friend joked about her being slow, it rubbed salt in the wound. She already had a heavy heart from missing her pet’s birthday last night. Jamie didn’t want to cry, but she almost cried her eyes out. Her friend saw the pain written all over her face and said sorry.
When she stood up, she felt a throbbing pain in her leg. Still, she decided to grin and bear it and limped to class. The bump on her knee hurt like crazy, and her teacher could tell something was wrong.
By the end of the day, Jamie was in no shape to go to her after-school club. She said goodbye and walked home slowly, wishing the day had gone better.
Instructions for Students
Read the story again. Underline or list all the idioms about pain that you can find.
Answer Key
- Under the weather
- Screamed in pain
- Burning pain
- Rubbed salt in the wound
- Heavy heart
- Cried her eyes out
- Pain written all over her face
- Throbbing pain
- Grin and bear it
- Hurt like crazy
- In no shape
Conclusion
Idioms for pain help us describe feelings in creative ways. Instead of just saying “it hurt,” we can say “it hurt like crazy” or “I was in agony.” These phrases show how strong the pain feels, whether it’s in your body or your heart.
By learning these expressions, you can understand people better and explain your own feelings more clearly. Whether you’re talking to friends or writing a story, these idioms can help your words feel more real and honest. Keep listening for them in movies, books, or even at school. You’ll start to notice them more and more.
