Idioms are a fantastic way to bring color and creativity into everyday conversations. They don’t always mean exactly what the words say, but they help us express ideas more vividly and memorably. Especially when talking about hard work, idioms can inspire, motivate, and communicate effort in ways that stick. Whether you’re studying for exams, pushing through a work project, or simply hustling through life, learning these idioms will help you describe your dedication in fun and clever ways.
In this blog post, you’ll explore 50 popular idioms that are all about working hard. Each phrase includes a clear meaning, a helpful example sentence, and a few other ways to say the same thing. These idioms can be used in school, at work, or even just in conversations with friends. Plus, we’ve included a fun practice section at the end to help you remember and use them naturally. Let’s get to work and dig into these hard-working expressions!
Idioms for Working Hard
1. Burn the midnight oil
Meaning: To work late into the night, especially on something important.
In a Sentence: She burned the midnight oil for three nights straight to complete her science fair project before the deadline.
Other Ways to Say: Stay up late working, Pull an all-nighter
2. Put your nose to the grindstone
Meaning: To work very hard and diligently for a long time.
In a Sentence: If you want to finish that book before next week, you’ll need to put your nose to the grindstone starting today.
Other Ways to Say: Work steadily, Stay focused
3. Go the extra mile
Meaning: To make more effort than expected or required.
In a Sentence: He always goes the extra mile by double-checking every detail before submitting his assignments.
Other Ways to Say: Do more than expected, Give extra effort
4. Break your back
Meaning: To work extremely hard, often to the point of physical exhaustion.
In a Sentence: I broke my back organizing that charity event, but seeing everyone happy made it all worth it.
Other Ways to Say: Work really hard, Push yourself
5. Work your fingers to the bone
Meaning: To put in a lot of physical or mental effort over time.
In a Sentence: They worked their fingers to the bone to make sure the family business stayed afloat during tough times.
Other Ways to Say: Labor hard, Put in long hours
6. Pull out all the stops
Meaning: To use every possible effort or resource to succeed.
In a Sentence: The teacher pulled out all the stops to help her students pass their final exams.
Other Ways to Say: Go all out, Try everything
7. Bust your chops
Meaning: To work really hard at something, often with determination.
In a Sentence: He’s been busting his chops for months to qualify for the national team.
Other Ways to Say: Hustle, Give it your all
8. Sweat blood
Meaning: To put in extreme effort or struggle hard to get results.
In a Sentence: She sweated blood finishing her thesis, rewriting it multiple times to make it perfect.
Other Ways to Say: Work hard, Struggle through
9. Keep your shoulder to the wheel
Meaning: To stay dedicated and keep working with full force.
In a Sentence: Even during stressful weeks, he keeps his shoulder to the wheel and delivers his best work.
Other Ways to Say: Stay focused, Keep pushing
10. Dig in your heels
Meaning: To commit fully to something and work hard despite obstacles.
In a Sentence: When others gave up, she dug in her heels and kept working until the job was done.
Other Ways to Say: Stand firm, Stay determined
11. Grind away
Meaning: To continue working hard, especially on something boring or repetitive.
In a Sentence: He kept grinding away at the data analysis until he found the pattern he was looking for.
Other Ways to Say: Keep working, Power through
12. Leave no stone unturned
Meaning: To try every possible way to solve a problem or reach a goal.
In a Sentence: The research team left no stone unturned while developing the new product.
Other Ways to Say: Explore all options, Try everything
13. Get your hands dirty
Meaning: To be involved in hard or messy work, especially by doing it yourself.
In a Sentence: Instead of just giving instructions, the manager got his hands dirty and helped fix the equipment.
Other Ways to Say: Pitch in, Do the tough work
14. Hit the ground running
Meaning: To start a task or job with a lot of energy and enthusiasm from the very beginning.
In a Sentence: She hit the ground running on her first day at the new job and impressed everyone.
Other Ways to Say: Start strong, Jump in with energy
15. Burn the candle at both ends
Meaning: To stay very busy by working late and getting up early, often leading to exhaustion.
In a Sentence: He’s burning the candle at both ends trying to juggle two jobs and night school.
Other Ways to Say: Overwork yourself, Stretch thin
16. Keep plugging away
Meaning: To keep working on something steadily even if it’s difficult.
In a Sentence: She kept plugging away at her business plan until everything finally came together.
Other Ways to Say: Keep going, Persist
17. Hunker down
Meaning: To settle in and focus hard on getting work done.
In a Sentence: We need to hunker down this weekend if we want to meet the deadline.
Other Ways to Say: Focus up, Settle in
18. Give it your all
Meaning: To put all your energy, effort, and focus into something.
In a Sentence: He gave it his all during the championship game and left everything on the field.
Other Ways to Say: Go all in, Try your best
19. Push the envelope
Meaning: To go beyond what is expected or traditional, often through intense effort.
In a Sentence: The design team really pushed the envelope with their futuristic concepts.
Other Ways to Say: Innovate, Go beyond limits
20. Put in the legwork
Meaning: To do the physical or background work needed for something to succeed.
In a Sentence: Before the show could start, the crew put in the legwork setting up lights and sound.
Other Ways to Say: Do the groundwork, Prepare
21. No pain, no gain
Meaning: Hard work often involves discomfort, but it leads to progress or reward.
In a Sentence: Waking up early for workouts isn’t fun, but she believes in “no pain, no gain.”
Other Ways to Say: Work through the struggle, Results need effort
22. Slug away
Meaning: To keep working slowly and steadily on something tough.
In a Sentence: He slugged away at the paperwork until everything was finally sorted.
Other Ways to Say: Trudge through, Work steadily
23. Pull your weight
Meaning: To do your fair share of the work in a group.
In a Sentence: If we all pull our weight, this group project will be a breeze.
Other Ways to Say: Contribute fairly, Do your part
24. Be in the trenches
Meaning: To be actively involved in the most difficult or intense part of the work.
In a Sentence: During the busiest season, everyone from the CEO to the interns was in the trenches.
Other Ways to Say: On the front lines, Deep in the work
25. Put in long hours
Meaning: To work for many hours, often more than usual.
In a Sentence: He put in long hours at the office to prepare for the big presentation.
Other Ways to Say: Work overtime, Stay late
26. Push yourself to the limit
Meaning: To give the maximum amount of effort possible.
In a Sentence: During training camp, the athletes pushed themselves to the limit every single day.
Other Ways to Say: Go all out, Give it everything
27. Stay on the grind
Meaning: To continue working hard consistently over time.
In a Sentence: She stays on the grind every week to keep up with both her studies and her side job.
Other Ways to Say: Hustle consistently, Keep working
28. Clock in serious hours
Meaning: To spend a large amount of time working.
In a Sentence: They clocked in serious hours to launch the new website before the deadline.
Other Ways to Say: Work a lot, Put in extra time
29. Be all hands on deck
Meaning: Everyone needs to contribute effort during a busy time.
In a Sentence: With the big event approaching, it was all hands on deck at the office.
Other Ways to Say: Everyone pitch in, Total teamwork
30. Get down to business
Meaning: To begin working seriously and stop wasting time.
In a Sentence: Once the meeting started, we got down to business right away.
Other Ways to Say: Focus and begin, Start working
31. Roll up your sleeves
Meaning: To prepare to start working hard.
In a Sentence: It’s time to roll up our sleeves and clean this whole garage.
Other Ways to Say: Get ready to work, Dive in
32. Give 110 percent
Meaning: To put in more than full effort.
In a Sentence: He gave 110 percent during the final rehearsal to make the performance unforgettable.
Other Ways to Say: Exceed effort, Go above and beyond
33. Be nose to tail
Meaning: To be continuously working with no break.
In a Sentence: We were nose to tail all week finalizing the launch materials.
Other Ways to Say: Work nonstop, Be fully occupied
34. Keep at it
Meaning: To continue working despite challenges or boredom.
In a Sentence: Even when she was frustrated, she kept at it until the report was perfect.
Other Ways to Say: Stick with it, Don’t give up
35. Tackle head-on
Meaning: To face a difficult task directly with determination.
In a Sentence: He tackled the coding problem head-on and solved it within the hour.
Other Ways to Say: Confront directly, Face with focus
36. Have your work cut out
Meaning: To have a difficult or challenging task ahead.
In a Sentence: We had our work cut out for us with only two days left to build the set.
Other Ways to Say: Be challenged, Face a tough task
37. Rise to the occasion
Meaning: To handle a difficult situation successfully.
In a Sentence: Even under pressure, she rose to the occasion and led the team to victory.
Other Ways to Say: Step up, Perform under pressure
38. Work like a dog
Meaning: To work extremely hard, often for long hours.
In a Sentence: He worked like a dog all week to finish remodeling the house.
Other Ways to Say: Labor intensely, Be overworked
39. Be swamped
Meaning: To be overwhelmed with too much work.
In a Sentence: I’ve been swamped with assignments ever since the semester started.
Other Ways to Say: Drowning in work, Buried in tasks
40. Have your nose in the books
Meaning: To be focused on studying or reading.
In a Sentence: She had her nose in the books all weekend to prep for finals.
Other Ways to Say: Be deep in study, Focus on reading
41. Be on the clock
Meaning: To be officially working or on duty.
In a Sentence: While you’re on the clock, you need to stay focused and productive.
Other Ways to Say: Be at work, On duty
42. Be snowed under
Meaning: To have too many tasks to handle at once.
In a Sentence: We’re completely snowed under at the office after the product launch.
Other Ways to Say: Overloaded, Drowning in tasks
43. Chase deadlines
Meaning: To constantly work under time pressure.
In a Sentence: He’s always chasing deadlines, juggling multiple freelance projects at once.
Other Ways to Say: Race the clock, Rush to finish
44. Be firing on all cylinders
Meaning: To perform at your best in all areas.
In a Sentence: The whole team was firing on all cylinders during the final stretch of the campaign.
Other Ways to Say: Be at peak performance, Fully focused
45. Be up to your ears in work
Meaning: To have more work than you can handle.
In a Sentence: She’s up to her ears in work since two coworkers went on vacation.
Other Ways to Say: Totally overloaded, Buried in work
46. Hustle hard
Meaning: To work with a strong sense of urgency and drive.
In a Sentence: He hustled hard every day after school to build his online business.
Other Ways to Say: Work energetically, Grind fast
47. Be on the hustle
Meaning: To always be actively working or pursuing goals.
In a Sentence: She’s always on the hustle, balancing school, a job, and a blog.
Other Ways to Say: Stay active, Keep grinding
48. Power through
Meaning: To push through a difficult situation with effort and focus.
In a Sentence: Despite feeling sick, she powered through her shift to cover for a teammate.
Other Ways to Say: Push onward, Keep going
49. Carry the load
Meaning: To take responsibility for a large part of the work.
In a Sentence: He carried the load for the entire project while others slacked off.
Other Ways to Say: Bear the burden, Do the heavy lifting
50. Break a sweat
Meaning: To put in effort and start working hard.
In a Sentence: You won’t succeed unless you break a sweat and get serious about your goals.
Other Ways to Say: Get moving, Put in real effort
Exercise to Practice
Fill in the blanks:
- She had to __________ the midnight oil to finish her paper on time.
- If you want to succeed, you’ll have to put your __________ to the grindstone.
- He’s been __________ his chops to qualify for the swim team.
- I had my __________ cut out for me with that complicated design task.
- We all __________ our sleeves and cleaned up the park.
- Despite being tired, he __________ through the entire shift.
- The students __________ long hours preparing for the debate competition.
- Even when things got hard, she kept __________ away at the report.
- It’s __________ hands on deck to meet the holiday demand.
- He’s been __________ deadlines since he took on two new clients.
- She hustled __________ every afternoon to grow her online shop.
- I’m __________ under with all these last-minute orders.
Answers:
burned, nose, busting, work, rolled up, powered, put in, plugging, all, chasing, hard, snowed
Conclusion
Hard work is a part of life, and knowing how to talk about it makes conversations more engaging, motivational, and real. These 50 idioms for working hard aren’t just colorful expressions—they help us connect with others, explain our efforts, and even encourage ourselves to keep going when things get tough.
Start weaving these idioms into your writing, conversations, or even social media posts. Whether you’re grinding away at school, hustling through a side gig, or simply pushing yourself to grow, there’s an idiom that fits the journey. Keep working, keep learning, and most importantly—keep using language that fuels your motivation.
