hit the books
/ˌhɪt ðə ˈbʊks/INFORMAL · B2
Meaning
to start studying seriously, especially before exams
Examples
- 1My exams start on Monday, so I'm going to hit the books all weekend.
- 2After failing his first driving theory test, Leo hit the books and passed easily the second time.
- 3Aisha turned down the party invitation because she had to hit the books before her finals.
- 4If you want a place at medical school, you'll need to start hitting the books now.
- 5Ben spent the whole summer at the beach and never hit the books, so his results were terrible.
Grammar
Only hit changes: hits, hitting. The past form is also hit. books stays plural.
Similar in meaning
More idioms about education
All 20 idioms and the topic quiz →get the hang ofto learn how to do something that is not simple at firstit's not rocket scienceit is easy to understand or dotrial and errortrying different methods and learning from what goes wrongthe penny dropssomeone finally understands something after a whilea crash coursea short period of lessons that teaches a lot very quicklyrack your brainsto think very hard to remember or solve something
English Idioms400 idioms in 20 topics — with reviews that keep them from fading
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