60 Idioms for Feeling Sick

Idioms are fun phrases that mean something different from the literal words inside them. People use them to make talking and writing much more colorful, expressive, and clear. In this lesson, you will learn sixty helpful idioms related to the topic of feeling sick.

In this lesson, we’ll look at idioms for feeling sick that mean feeling poorly, catching a cold, and recovering health. Let’s get started and explore some of these helpful expressions.

Idioms for Feeling Sick

1. Under the weather

Meaning: Feeling slightly sick, tired, or low in energy.

For Example: Mom stayed in bed because she was feeling a bit under the weather. / Playing outside in the rain left him feeling under the weather.

Other Ways to Say: Feeling poorly / Low energy

2. Feel a bit green

Meaning: Looking pale and feeling slightly sick to your stomach.

For Example: Riding the fast roller coaster made him feel a bit green. / She looked a bit green after eating too much candy.

Other Ways to Say: Nauseous / Feeling sick

3. Out of sorts

Meaning: Feeling uncomfortable, irritable, and physically unwell.

For Example: Sleeping poorly left her feeling a bit out of sorts all morning. / He acted grumpy and out of sorts after lunch because of a headache.

Other Ways to Say: Unwell / Irritable

4. Right as rain

Meaning: Feeling completely healthy, well, and back to normal after being sick.

For Example: After resting in bed for a day, I felt right as rain. / Drink some water and take a nap, and you will be right as rain.

Other Ways to Say: Perfectly healthy / Completely well

5. Cough your lungs out

Meaning: To cough very loudly, deeply, and continuously when you have a cold.

For Example: He had a bad chest cold and spent the morning coughing his lungs out. / The dusty room made everyone cough their lungs out.

Other Ways to Say: Coughing hard / Bad cough

6. Run down

Meaning: Feeling exhausted, weak, and close to catching an illness.

For Example: Working hard all week without resting left her feeling very run down. / Take a nap so you do not get run down before school.

Other Ways to Say: Exhausted / Weakened

7. Full of beans

Meaning: Not a sickness idiom, but an energetic mood opposite to being sick.

For Example: After resting up, the puppy was full of beans in the yard. / The children ate snacks and were full of beans all afternoon.

Other Ways to Say: Energetic / Lively

8. Back on your feet

Meaning: Recovering your health and strength after being sick.

For Example: After staying in bed for two days, grandpa was finally back on his feet. / Eating good soup helped me get back on my feet quickly.

Other Ways to Say: Recovered / Healthy again

9. As fit as a fiddle

Meaning: Being in very good health and feeling strong.

For Example: After sleeping for ten hours, grandpa was as fit as a fiddle. / My pet dog runs around the yard because he is fit as a fiddle.

Other Ways to Say: Very healthy / Feeling strong

10. In the pink

Meaning: Being in very good physical health and feeling strong.

For Example: After sleeping for ten hours, grandma was in the pink. / My pet cat runs around the house because she is in the pink.

Other Ways to Say: Very healthy / Feeling great

11. Catch a bug

Meaning: To become infected with a common cold or flu virus.

For Example: Wash your hands often so you do not catch a bug at school. / Several kids in our classroom managed to catch a bug this week.

Other Ways to Say: Get sick / Fall ill

12. Run a fever

Meaning: Having a high body temperature because you are fighting an infection.

For Example: He felt very warm because he was running a fever all night. / The thermometer showed she was running a fever, so she stayed home.

Other Ways toSay: Have a temperature / Be feverish

13. Phlegm in your throat

Meaning: Thick mucus in your throat caused by a heavy cold.

For Example: Having a bad cold left him clearing phlegm in his throat all morning. / She drank warm tea to help clear the phlegm in her throat.

Other Ways toSay: Mucus buildup / Congested throat

14. Stuffed up

Meaning: Having a blocked nose and sinuses from allergies or a cold.

For Example: My nose was so stuffed up that I could not smell dinner. / Taking allergy medicine helped clear my stuffed up head.

Other Ways toSay: Congested / Blocked nose

15. Running nose

Meaning: A nose that drips liquid because of a cold or allergies.

For Example: Spring pollen always gives me a sneezing fit and a running nose. / Grab a tissue because you have a running nose.

Other Ways toSay: Drippy nose / Flowing nose

16. Achilles heel

Meaning: A weakness in your body that makes you prone to getting sick.

For Example: Catching sore throats easily seemed to be his Achilles heel every winter. / Weak sinuses were her Achilles heel during allergy season.

Other Ways toSay: Vulnerability / Physical weakness

17. Pale as a ghost

Meaning: Having very white skin because of illness, nausea, or shock.

For Example: When he felt sudden dizziness, his face turned as pale as a ghost. / She looked pale as a ghost before vomiting from the flu.

Other Ways toSay: Very pale / White-faced

18. Throw up

Meaning: To vomit food from your stomach when you have an upset tummy.

For Example: Eating too much candy on an empty stomach made him throw up. / The sick puppy had to throw up on the kitchen rug.

Other Ways toSay: Vomit / Be sick

19. Sick as a dog

Meaning: Feeling extremely ill, miserable, and unwell with a sickness.

For Example: Having the winter flu left me feeling as sick as a dog for days. / He ate spoiled food and was sick as a dog all night.

Other Ways toSay: Very ill / Miserably sick

20. Catch a chill

Meaning: To become cold and start developing symptoms of a cold.

For Example: Put on your jacket so you do not catch a chill in the wind. / Walking in the rain without an umbrella made him catch a chill.

Other Ways toSay: Get cold / Take a chill

21. Green around the gills

Meaning: Looking sickly pale and nauseous in the face.

For Example: The bumpy boat ride made everyone look green around the gills. / He looked green around the gills after eating spoiled milk.

Other Ways toSay: Nauseous / Sickly look

22. Weak at the knees

Meaning: Feeling physically shaky, dizzy, and unsteady from illness.

For Example: Standing up too fast after having the flu made me feel weak at the knees. / The high fever left her feeling weak at the knees.

Other Ways toSay: Shaky legs / Diddy feeling

23. Out like a light

Meaning: Falling fast asleep because illness or exhaustion took over.

For Example: Taking cold medicine made him go out like a light on the couch. / After resting with a fever, she went out like a light.

Other Ways toSay: Fast asleep / Deep sleep

24. Heavy head

Meaning: Feeling a dizzy, weighted-down sensation in your head during a cold.

For Example: Waking up with a heavy head meant I had to stay home from school. / The flu virus gave him a very heavy head all day.

Other Ways toSay: Dizzy head / Headaches

25. Swollen glands

Meaning: Enlarged bumps in your neck when your body fights off an infection.

For Example: Having a sore throat left her with painful swollen glands. / The doctor checked his neck for swollen glands during the checkup.

Other Ways toSay: Puffy neck bumps / Infection signs

26. Barking cough

Meaning: A loud, harsh cough that sounds like a dog barking.

For Example: The child woke up with a scary barking cough during the night. / Taking syrup helped ease his harsh barking cough.

Other Ways toSay: Harsh cough / Loud hacking

27. Watery eyes

Meaning: Eyes that leak tears because of allergies, colds, or illness.

For Example: The dusty room gave me sneezing fits and watery eyes. / Spring pollen always leaves her with itchy, watery eyes.

Other Ways toSay: Teardrop eyes / Weepy eyes

28. Bedridden

Meaning: Confined to bed because an illness is too severe to stand up.

For Example: Having a severe flu left him bedridden for three days straight. / Grandma was bedridden with a bad cold over the weekend.

Other Ways toSay: Stuck in bed / Confined to rest

29. Lying low

Meaning: Staying quietly at home in bed to recover from an illness.

For Example: Doctor’s orders were to stay home and be lying low until the fever passed. / He was lying low with a blanket while resting his cold.

Other Ways toSay: Resting at home / Staying quiet

30. Out of commission

Meaning: Unable to go to school or work because of being sick.

For Example: Having a sprained ankle and a cold put me out of commission. / Dad was out of commission with the flu all week.

Other Ways toSay: Out of action / Unwell

31. Squeaking voice

Meaning: A raspy, high-pitched voice caused by a sore throat.

For Example: Having a terrible cold left him with a funny squeaking voice. / She tried to talk, but only a squeaking voice came out.

Other Ways toSay: Raspy voice / Hoarse tone

32. Chilled to the bone

Meaning: Feeling freezing cold all the way through your body, often before a fever.

For Example: Walking in the snow without gloves left me chilled to the bone. / He shivered on the sofa, feeling chilled to the bone.

Other Ways toSay: Very cold / Freezing inside

33. Shivering fits

Meaning: Uncontrollable shaking of the body caused by chills or fever.

For Example: The flu virus gave her sudden shivering fits under the blankets. / He wrapped up in three quilts to stop his shivering fits.

Other Ways toSay: Uncontrollable shakes / Chilly shivers

34. Catch a cold

Meaning: To become sick with a runny nose and sneezing.

For Example: Going outside without a sweater will make you catch a cold. / Wash your hands so you do not catch a cold from others.

Other Ways toSay: Fall sick / Get a cold

35. Over the hump

Meaning: Passing the worst days of an illness and starting to recover.

For Example: After coughing for four days, I finally felt like I was over the hump. / The fever broke, meaning she was over the hump of her illness.

Other Ways toSay: Past the worst / Getting better

36. On the mend

Meaning: Recovering your health and feeling better each day.

For Example: Eating chicken soup helped him feel on the mend by Sunday evening. / Her cold is gone, and she is officially on the mend.

Other Ways toSay: Getting better / Healing up

37. Clearing your throat

Meaning: Making a small sound to remove tickling mucus from your windpipe.

For Example: He kept clearing his throat before starting his presentation. / A tickle in her windpipe led to constant clearing of her throat.

Other Ways toSay: Coughing lightly / Clearing airway

38. Dizzy spell

Meaning: A brief moment when the room feels like it is spinning around you.

For Example: Standing up too fast after resting gave her a sudden dizzy spell. / He sat down on the floor when he felt a dizzy spell coming.

Other Ways toSay: Lightheadedness / Brief spinning

39. Feeling washed out

Meaning: Looking pale, tired, and thoroughly drained from an illness.

For Example: After fighting a fever for two days, she felt completely washed out. / The cold medicine left him looking pale and washed out.

Other Ways toSay: Drained / Exhausted

40. Contagious bug

Meaning: An illness germ that easily spreads from one person to another.

For Example: Stay home if you have a contagious bug so others do not get sick. / The classroom caught a contagious bug during winter.

Other Ways toSay: Spreading germ / Catchy illness

41. Laid up

Meaning: Forced to stay in bed resting because of an injury or illness.

For Example: Breaking his leg left him laid up on the couch for weeks. / Dad was laid up with a bad summer flu.

Other Ways toSay: Stuck in bed / Resting up

42. Throwing up a storm

Meaning: Vomiting heavily and repeatedly from a severe stomach bug.

For Example: Eating that bad food had him throwing up a storm all night. / The flu virus kept her throwing up a storm in the bathroom.

Other Ways toSay: Vomiting heavily / Sick stomach

43. Achy joints

Meaning: Sore, painful bones and joints caused by flu body aches.

For Example: Having the flu left her with tired muscles and achy joints. / The cold weather made his knees and achy joints feel sore.

Other Ways toSay: Sore body / Painful bones

44. Running a temperature

Meaning: Having an elevated body heat indicating you are sick.

For Example: The school nurse checked my forehead and saw I was running a temperature. / He stayed home in bed because he was running a temperature.

Other Ways toSay: Have a fever / Be warm

45. Sinus headache

Meaning: Pain and pressure in your forehead and face from a stuffed nose.

For Example: The heavy cold gave her a painful sinus headache behind her eyes. / Taking medicine helped relieve his throbbing sinus headache.

Other Ways toSay: Head pressure / Face ache

46. Splitting headache

Meaning: A very severe, pounding pain inside your head.

For Example: Looking at the bright computer screen gave me a splitting headache. / The loud noise outside caused a splitting headache.

Other Ways toSay: Severe headache / Pounding head

47. Hacking cough

Meaning: A dry, sharp, and annoying cough that happens repeatedly.

For Example: He tried to sleep through the night despite his annoying hacking cough. / Drinking honey water helped soothe her hacking cough.

Other Ways toSay: Dry cough / Sharp hacking

48. Froggie voice

Meaning: A deep, rough voice caused by swelling in your vocal cords.

For Example: Waking up with a cold gave him a deep froggie voice. / She laughed at her own funny froggie voice in the morning.

Other Ways toSay: Hoarse tone / Rough voice

49. Stomach bug

Meaning: A common intestinal illness causing tummy aches and nausea.

For Example: A nasty stomach bug went around our classroom last week. / Eating bland crackers helped settle my tummy after a stomach bug.

Other Ways toSay: Tummy flu / Digestive illness

50. Upset tummy

Meaning: Mild pain, discomfort, and queasiness in your stomach.

For Example: Eating too many green apples gave me an upset tummy. / Drinking ginger ale helped soothe his upset tummy.

Other Ways toSay: Queasy stomach / Tummy ache

51. Catch the flu

Meaning: To become sick with influenza virus symptoms like fever and chills.

For Example: Getting your yearly shot helps prevent you from catching the flu. / He stayed in bed all week after catching the flu.

Other Ways toSay: Get influenza / Fall ill

52. Weak spell

Meaning: A short period of feeling unusually faint and physically weak.

For Example: Skipping breakfast gave her a sudden weak spell during gym class. / He sat down on the bench to recover from a weak spell.

Other Ways toSay: Faint feeling / Brief weakness

53. Out of gas

Meaning: Having zero physical energy left because of an illness or exhaustion.

For Example: Fighting the cold virus left me feeling completely out of gas. / After running the race with a mild cold, he was out of gas.

Other Ways toSay: Exhausted / Out of energy

54. Lying prostrate

Meaning: Lying completely flat on your back or face down in bed from illness.

For Example: The high fever left him lying prostrate under heavy blankets. / She was lying prostrate on the sofa, too tired to move.

Other Ways toSay: Flat in bed / Lying down

55. Pale face

Meaning: Skin lacking healthy color due to illness or fatigue.

For Example: The school nurse noticed his pale face and checked his temperature. / Her pale face showed that she had not fully recovered.

Other Ways toSay: White skin / Colorless face

56. Sniffling and sneezing

Meaning: Making small nasal sounds and blowing air from your nose due to a cold.

For Example: Everyone in the library was sniffling and sneezing during allergy season. / Grab a box of tissues because you are sniffling and sneezing.

Other Ways toSay: Cold symptoms / Sneezing fits

57. Hazy head

Meaning: Feeling foggy, confused, and slow-thinking from medicine or a cold.

For Example: The cold syrup left him with a hazy head all afternoon. / I had a hazy head and could not focus on my math book.

Other Ways toSay: Foggy brain / Confused mind

58. Feeling weak

Meaning: Lacking normal physical strength because your body is fighting a sickness.

For Example: Walking up the stairs left me feeling weak after the flu. / She felt too weak to carry her backpack to school.

Other Ways toSay: Lacking strength / Feeble feeling

59. Sore throat

Meaning: Pain, scratchiness, and irritation inside your throat when swallowing.

For Example: Drinking warm honey tea helped soothe my painful sore throat. / He could barely talk because of a bad sore throat.

Other Ways toSay: Scratchy throat / Throat pain

60. Runny nose

Meaning: A nose leaking liquid mucus during a cold or allergy flare-up.

For Example: Keep a tissue box nearby when you have a runny nose. / The chilly morning wind gave her a runny nose.