Idiom – Stretch your legs
What Does “Stretch Your Legs” Mean?
Meaning — to go for a short walk, especially after sitting or lying down for a long time. You might need to stretch your legs after you’ve been sitting or standing in one place for a while. If you’ve been in one position for a long time, stretching your legs helps loosen your leg muscles and wakes you up a bit.
This is one of the easier idioms to learn, because it’s fairly literal — the meaning is close to the actual words. Compare it with an expression like hit the nail on the head, where the meaning has nothing to do with nails or hammers at all.
When to Use It
You’ll hear or use this idiom when:
- You’ve been in a meeting for hours and need to move about.
- You’ve just finished watching a long film or binge-watching your favourite TV series.
- You have cramp in your legs after sitting down for a long time.
- You need a break from writing a long assignment.
Example
“We’ve been stuck in the car for hours! Can we stop soon and take a break? I really need to stretch my legs!”
“The flight to Australia takes over twenty hours, so we’ll land somewhere to refuel and stretch our legs before the final leg.”
More English expressions featuring parts of the body →
What is an idiom?
An idiom is a word or phrase that is not taken literally. An idiom is an expression that cannot be understood from the meanings of its individual words, but has a separate meaning of its own.
Frequently Asked Questions
It means to go for a short walk, especially after you’ve been sitting or standing still for a long time — for example, during a break in a long journey or after a long meeting.
It’s an everyday, informal expression, suitable for casual conversation with friends, family, or colleagues.
It’s almost always used specifically about a short walk to loosen up after sitting or standing for too long — it’s not usually used for other kinds of exercise.
Test Yourself
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Is there an idiom like this in your country? Tell us on X — @EnglishStudy.
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