Idioms are fun figures of speech where the words together have a different meaning than what they say literally. People use them every day to make speaking and writing much more colorful and exciting. In this article, you will learn fifty special expressions connected to top priorities, great value, and being very important.
In this lesson, we’ll look at idioms that mean high priority, significant value, or essential matters. Let’s get started and explore some of these helpful expressions.
Idioms for Very Important
1. High on the list
Definition: A task, item, or goal that holds top priority and great significance.
Definition: A task, item, or goal that holds top priority and great significance.
Used in a Sentence: Finishing my math homework before playing video games is high on my list tonight. / Winning the science fair trophy was high on the list of goals for our club.
Similar Expressions: Top priority / Main focus
2. Big deal
Definition: An event, milestone, or matter of great importance and significance.
Used in a Sentence: Graduating from middle school and moving up to high school is a really big deal. / Getting to pitch in the championship baseball game was a big deal for him.
Similar Expressions: Major event / Significant matter
3. Crown jewel
Definition: The most valuable, successful, and important part of a collection or project.
Used in a Sentence: The detailed treehouse model was the crown jewel of our school exhibition. / The vintage comic book in his collection was the crown jewel of his hobby.
Similar Expressions: Ultimate prize / Best part
4. Worth its weight in gold
Definition: Something or someone of extremely high value, usefulness, and importance.
Used in a Sentence: A good study guide right before final exams is worth its weight in gold. / My older sister’s advice on how to solve math word problems was worth its weight in gold.
Similar Expressions: Highly valuable / Extremely useful
5. Heavy hitter
Definition: An important, powerful, and highly influential person in a group or field.
Used in a Sentence: The school invited a local scientist, who is a heavy hitter in physics, to speak to us. / When the debate team needed a strong closer, they called on their heavy hitter.
Similar Expressions: Key player / Important figure
6. Center stage
Definition: The most prominent, noticeable, and important place in any situation.
Used in a Sentence: Protecting our natural environment took center stage during the school assembly. / The new art project design took center stage on the classroom wall display.
Similar Expressions: Main focus / Focal point
7. Make a splash
Definition: To do something important and noticeable that catches everyone’s attention.
Used in a Sentence: The new robotics club invention made a splash at the regional science fair. / Her creative painting made a big splash in the local community art contest.
Similar Expressions: Cause a stir / Stand out
8. Prime time
Definition: The most crucial, important, and high-attention period of time.
Used in a Sentence: Studying right before dinner is prime time for getting my hardest homework done. / The school band played their favorite song during the prime time slot of the concert.
Similar Expressions: Peak period / Best time
9. Top dog
Definition: The most important, leading, or successful person in a group.
Used in a Sentence: After winning the spelling bee three years in a row, she felt like the top dog. / The captain of the soccer team worked hard to stay the top dog in scoring.
Similar Expressions: Leader / Number one
10. Pillar of the community
Definition: A dependable, highly important, and supportive member of a neighborhood.
Used in a Sentence: The local librarian who reads to kids every Saturday is a true pillar of our community. / Grandpa has been a pillar of the community for helping build the park.
Similar Expressions: Key supporter / Trusted citizen
11. Grand prize
Definition: The most valuable and important award given in a competition.
Used in a Sentence: Winning the grand prize at the art contest meant getting a giant box of colored markers. / Our school basketball team aimed to take home the grand prize this season.
Similar Expressions: Top award / Ultimate prize
12. Main event
Definition: The primary, most anticipated, and important activity of an occasion.
Used in a Sentence: The spelling bee finals were the main event of our Friday afternoon assembly. / Eating the giant chocolate cake was the main event of the birthday party.
Similar Expressions: Primary focus / Big show
13. Heart of the matter
Definition: The most essential, crucial, and important core of a problem or topic.
Used in a Sentence: Let us skip the small talk and get straight to the heart of the matter. / Finding a way to help our classmates understand fractions is the heart of the matter.
Similar Expressions: Core issue / Main point
14. Big cheese
Definition: An informal way to describe the most important person in charge.
Used in a Sentence: The principal, who is the big cheese of our school, came to visit our classroom. / He acted like the big cheese when he was put in charge of cleaning the playground.
Similar Expressions: Leader / Boss
15. Make the grade
Definition: To achieve the required, important standard of success or performance.
Used in a Sentence: Practicing every afternoon helped her make the grade for the varsity tennis team. / If you want to join the honor society, your project has to make the grade.
Similar Expressions: Succeed / Meet standards
16. Matter of life and death
Definition: An extremely grave, urgent, and vital situation that cannot be ignored.
Used in a Sentence: Forgetting my lunchbox feels like a tragedy, but it is certainly not a matter of life and death. / The firefighter explained how fire safety rules are a matter of life and death.
Similar Expressions: Critical situation / Urgent matter
17. Corner stone
Definition: The foundational, most vital part upon which everything else depends.
Used in a Sentence: Honesty and kindness are the cornerstones of a strong friendship. / Regular practice is the cornerstone of winning any sports championship.
Similar Expressions: Foundation / Essential basis
18. Of the utmost importance
Definition: Something so critical and significant that it demands immediate, careful attention.
Used in a Sentence: Keeping our laboratory safety goggles on during chemistry class is of the utmost importance. / Turning in your permission slip on time is of the utmost importance for the field trip.
Similar Expressions: Highly critical / Extremely vital
19. Big gun
Definition: An important, influential person brought in to handle a difficult task.
Used in a Sentence: When the club budget was in trouble, they called in a big gun from the high school board. / The coach brought in a professional trainer as a big gun to help our pitching.
Similar Expressions: Key expert / Powerful helper
20. Front and center
Definition: Placed in the most visible and important position possible.
Used in a Sentence: The honor roll certificates were displayed front and center on the bulletin board. / During the group photo, the coach put our trophy front and center.
Similar Expressions: Highly visible / Main focus
21. Key player
Definition: An essential, highly important individual who helps a team succeed.
Used in a Sentence: Our goalkeeper was a key player in winning the regional soccer championship. / She proved to be a key player in organizing the school charity drive.
Similar Expressions: Essential member / Vital helper
22. Paramount importance
Definition: Superior to all other things in significance, value, and priority.
Used in a Sentence: Safety during the outdoor camping trip was of paramount importance to the teachers. / Finishing your daily reading assignment is of paramount importance for learning.
Similar Expressions: Top priority / Highest value
23. The real deal
Definition: Something or someone genuinely authentic, valuable, and exceptionally good.
Used in a Sentence: When he played a complex classical song on the piano, we realized he was the real deal. / That antique baseball signed by the legend is the real deal.
Similar Expressions: Authentic / Genuine article
24. Make waves of importance
Definition: To create a significant, highly noticeable impact on a project or topic.
Used in a Sentence: Her recycling campaign made waves of importance across the entire school. / His new computer coding app made waves of importance in our technology class.
Similar Expressions: Cause impact / Stand out
25. First and foremost
Definition: More than anything else; representing the highest priority or most vital concern.
Used in a Sentence: First and foremost, we need to make sure everyone understands the safety rules. / She is, first and foremost, a very loyal and kind friend.
Similar Expressions: Above all / Primarily
26. Make your mark
Definition: To achieve something significant and memorable that proves your importance.
Used in a Sentence: He wanted to make his mark on the track team by breaking the school sprint record. / By painting the playground mural, she made her mark on our school.
Similar Expressions: Leave a legacy / Stand out
27. High roller
Definition: Someone who spends big or treats matters with grand, important flair.
Used in a Sentence: He acted like a high roller when he bought pizza for the whole club table. / She invested extra allowance money into the school fundraiser like a true high roller.
Similar Expressions: Big spender / Major player
28. Turn heads
Definition: To do something so important or impressive that everyone stops to look.
Used in a Sentence: Her clever science fair volcano model turned heads in the exhibition hall. / The sleek design of our cardboard robot turned heads during judging.
Similar Expressions: Impress everyone / Catch attention
29. A heavy burden
Definition: A massive, crucial responsibility that weighs heavily on someone’s shoulders.
Used in a Sentence: Being chosen as student council president is a heavy burden of leadership. / Carrying the responsibility for the class play script felt like a heavy burden.
Similar Expressions: Major duty / Significant weight
30. Prime suspect
Definition: The most important and likely individual connected to a mystery or problem.
Used in a Sentence: When the cookie jar was found empty, the fluffy cat was the prime suspect. / The missing homework folder made the messy desk the prime suspect.
Similar Expressions: Main suspect / Top target
31. Heavy duty
Definition: Built to handle serious, important, and demanding tasks.
Used in a Sentence: We used heavy-duty cardboard boxes to pack up all the library books. / The janitor brought in a heavy-duty broom to clean the gym floor.
Similar Expressions: Sturdy / Robust
32. In the spotlight
Definition: Holding the center of attention during an important public moment.
Used in a Sentence: Winning the spelling bee put her right in the spotlight during the assembly. / The lead actor in the spring play enjoyed being in the spotlight.
Similar Expressions: Center stage / Main focus
33. The cream of the crop
Definition: The absolute best, most important, and highest quality members of a group.
Used in a Sentence: The top scoring math students were selected as the cream of the crop for the contest. / These handmade cookies are truly the cream of the crop at the bake sale.
Similar Expressions: The very best / Top quality
34. Bear the brunt
Definition: To take on the most important, difficult part of a heavy responsibility.
Used in a Sentence: As team captain, she had to bear the brunt of the work for our group project. / The oldest player had to bear the brunt of the extra practice drills.
Similar Expressions: Take the weight / Handle the worst
35. Make headline news
Definition: An event so important and exciting that it deserves to be the top story.
Used in a Sentence: Our school winning the state recycling award made headline news in the local paper. / The discovery of the ancient artifact on the playground would make headline news.
Similar Expressions: Top story / Major news
36. Top tier
Definition: The highest level of quality, importance, or performance.
Used in a Sentence: Only top-tier students were invited to join the advanced robotics workshop. / His pitching skills put him in the top tier of our baseball league.
Similar Expressions: Highest level / Top rank
37. Carry weight
Definition: For an opinion or person to be influential, respected, and very important.
Used in a Sentence: The veteran teacher’s advice on classroom rules always carries a lot of weight. / Because she is the club president, her vote carries extra weight.
Similar Expressions: Be influential / Hold authority
38. The heavy lifting
Definition: Doing the most difficult, vital, and important work in a project.
Used in a Sentence: While others suggested ideas, she did the heavy lifting by writing the entire report. / Dad did the heavy lifting when we moved all the furniture into the new room.
Similar Expressions: Hard work / Main effort
39. Call the shots
Definition: To be the important person in charge who makes all the final decisions.
Used in a Sentence: As the director of the school play, she gets to call the shots on costume design. / The team captain helps call the shots during strategic timeouts.
Similar Expressions: Be in charge / Make decisions
40. Stand tall
Definition: To remain proud, confident, and important despite tough challenges.
Used in a Sentence: Even after losing the match, the team coach told us to stand tall and be proud. / She learned to stand tall when defending her art project during presentations.
Similar Expressions: Be confident / Stay proud
41. Make your presence felt
Definition: To act with such importance and energy that everyone notices you.
Used in a Sentence: The star player made his presence felt by scoring three goals in the first half. / She walked into the science lab ready to make her presence felt.
Similar Expressions: Stand out / Be noticed
42. A shining example
Definition: A wonderfully important model of good behavior and high standards.
Used in a Sentence: His willingness to help clean up the art room made him a shining example for others. / She is a shining example of how hard work leads to great grades.
Similar Expressions: Great model / Perfect role model
43. Hold the reins
Definition: To control and manage important operations or leadership roles.
Used in a Sentence: The vice president had to hold the reins while the club president was away. / Dad let me hold the reins when organizing our family board game night.
Similar Expressions: Take control / Manage things
44. Front runner
Definition: The most important and likely candidate to win a competition or election.
Used in a Sentence: After acing the preliminary rounds, she became the front runner for class president. / Our school quiz bowl team is the front runner in this year’s tournament.
Similar Expressions: Leading candidate / Top pick
45. Center of attention
Definition: The most important focus of everyone’s eyes in a room.
Used in a Sentence: The birthday boy was the center of attention when he blew out his candles. / Her funny joke made her the center of attention at the lunch table.
Similar Expressions: Main focus / Focal point
46. Worth its salt
Definition: A person or tool that is competent, valuable, and important at their job.
Used in a Sentence: Any student worth their salt will double check their homework before turning it in. / A computer worth its salt should be able to run this educational game smoothly.
Similar Expressions: Competent / Reliable worker
47. Gold standard
Definition: The absolute best, most important measure of excellence in any field.
Used in a Sentence: Her organized science notebook is the gold standard for our entire class. / That dictionary is considered the gold standard for learning English vocabulary.
Similar Expressions: Best measure / Ultimate standard
48. Pull rank
Definition: To use your important position or authority to make a decision.
Used in a Sentence: The senior team member had to pull rank to settle the argument over equipment. / Don’t try to pull rank just because you got here five minutes before us.
Similar Expressions: Use authority / Exercise power
49. Big ticket item
Definition: An expensive, highly valuable, and very important purchase or prize.
Used in a Sentence: The new classroom projector was a big ticket item funded by the school bake sale. / Winning the bicycle raffle prize felt like scoring a big ticket item.
Similar Expressions: Valuable purchase / Major prize
50. Paramount importance
Definition: Something of the absolute highest significance and priority.
Used in a Sentence: Respecting your classmates during group discussions is of paramount importance. / Completing safety checks before flying the drone is of paramount importance.
Similar Expressions: Top priority / Critical need
Exercise to Practice
- Finishing my math homework before playing video games is high on my list tonight.
- Graduating from middle school and moving up to high school is a really big deal.
- The detailed treehouse model was the crown jewel of our school exhibition.
- A good study guide right before final exams is worth its weight in a muddy puddle.
- The school invited a local scientist, who is a heavy hitter in physics, to speak to us.
- Protecting our natural environment took center stage during the school assembly.
- The new robotics club invention made a splash at the regional science fair.
- Studying right before dinner is prime time for getting my hardest homework done.
- After winning the spelling bee three years in a row, she felt like a rusty bicycle wheel.
- The local librarian who reads to kids every Saturday is a true pillar of our community.
- Winning the grand prize at the art contest meant getting a giant box of colored markers.
- The spelling bee finals were the main event of our Friday afternoon assembly.
- Let us skip the small talk and get straight to the heart of the matter.
- The principal, who is the big cheese of our school, came to visit our classroom.
- Practicing every afternoon helped her make the grade for the varsity tennis team by eating a sandwich.
Answer Key
- True
- True
- True
- False
- True
- True
- True
- True
- False
- True
- True
- True
- True
- True
- False
Conclusion
Learning these idioms helps you understand English much better and gives you fun new ways to talk about top priorities, great value, and being very important. You can use them when describing school projects, sharing your favorite hobbies, or talking about important events with your friends and family.
Try using one or two of these expressions in a conversation or a story this week. Not only will your writing sound more exciting, but you will also have fun practicing your new skills.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are some common idioms for very important?
Some common idioms include high on the list, big deal, and crown jewel. These expressions are often used in everyday conversation to describe top priorities and significant matters.
Why do we use idioms in English?
Idioms make our language much more colorful, expressive, and fun than using plain words. They help us share big ideas and feelings in creative ways that people easily recognize.
How can I learn these idioms faster?
You can learn idioms faster by using them in daily sentences, writing short stories, and practicing with a friend. Making flashcards with pictures can also help you remember what each phrase means.
Are idioms used in everyday conversation?
Yes, native English speakers use idioms all the time during casual chats, television shows, and books. Learning them helps you understand jokes, stories, and conversations much more naturally.
Can idioms have more than one meaning?
Most idioms have one main accepted meaning, but how people use them can vary slightly depending on the context. Reading example sentences helps you see the exact way each phrase works.
