50 common hyperbole examples to use in your everyday life (2024)

You may have vague recollections of hyperbole from high school English or Language Arts classes. Or, perhaps you’re a seasoned writer looking to add more hyperbole examples to your arsenal. Maybe, instead, you’re trying to teach the literary device to a young writer. Whatever the case, we’re ready to teach you all about hyperbole — whether it’s your first time acquainting yourself with the concept, or you feel like you’ve been there, done hyperbole and are simply seeking some clever new additions.

First, if you’ve read this far and you’re still wondering “what exactly is hyperbole?,” then let’s not make you read a mile-long block of text without the formal definition. Per Merriam-Webster, hyperbole is defined as “extravagant exaggeration.” Dictionary.com defines hyperbole as “obvious and intentional exaggeration” or “an extravagant statement or figure of speech not intended to be taken literally, as ‘to wait an eternity.’” We repeat: This figure of speech is not meant to be taken literally. Just because you’re “so hungry you could eat a horse” … doesn’t mean you actually want to eat a horse.

Ahead, we’ve rounded up 50 holy grail hyperbole examples —some are as sweet as sugar, and some will make you laugh out loud.

50 common hyperbole examples

1. I’m so hungry, I could eat a horse.
2. You’re as sweet as sugar.
3. I have a million things to do today.
4. That bag weighs a ton.
5. She talks a mile a minute.
6. He’s as quiet as a graveyard.
7. That book is heavier than the dictionary.
8. I could sleep forever.
9. I have too much on my plate.
10. Check out that mountain of books on my bedside table.
11. The line at the grocery store was like Disney World.
12. This bus is crawling like a snail.
13. That car is going faster than a rocket ship.
14. What are you, a rocket scientist?
15. This outfit cost me an arm and a leg.
16. That movie was so creepy, I’m going to crawl out of my skin.
17. My to-do list is longer than the Mississippi.
18. That class was so boring it seemed like time stopped.
19. Our next door neighbors are louder than a rock concert.
20. Do I have to tell you a million times to stop?
21. Your smile lights me up more than a hundred suns.
22. The boss firing her was a dagger to her soul.
23. The living room is as cold as an iceberg.
24. It’s raining cats and dogs.
25. I’m melting in this heat.
26. Sitting by the pool was hotter than the surface of the sun.
27. I’ll be over faster than you can blink.
28. It’s so hot outside, you could fry an egg.
29. She knocked it out of the park with her work presentation.
30. The meal he cooked could feed an army.
31. She runs as fast as the wind.
32. She’d lose her head if it weren’t attached to her shoulders.
33. His head was spinning all day from the tax paperwork.
34. Back in the day, they used to walk 15 miles to school in a blizzard.
35. He answered that email faster than the speed of light.
36. Why is your weekend bag as light as a feather?
37. I have so much to do, I feel like a chicken with my head cut off.
38. He could tell she was angry from a mile away.
39. She’s ready to move mountains to get the job done.
40. That dog is older than dirt.
41. I feel like the weekend will never come.
42. I’m so full I’m never going to eat again.
43. It’s so crowded at the beach, it’s as if the whole town decided to come here today.
44. The lake was so clear you could see down to the center of the earth.
45. They hadn’t seen each other in ages when they met for coffee.
46. The concert hall was buzzing with energy.
47. Go ahead and cry me a river.
48. I’m going to explode with excitement.
49. I could read about this topic all day, every day.
50. She slept with one eye open, just in case.