THE IDIOM COLLECTION LEARN & PRACTISE
Add insult to injury
Understand the meaning. See it in context. Make it yours.
01 / UNDERSTAND
Meaning in plain English
To make an already upsetting situation worse with a further unpleasant action or event.
02 / SEE IT IN CONTEXT
The expression in a sentence
- The parcel arrived damaged, and to add insult to injury, the replacement was sent to the wrong address.
03 / CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING
Quick idiom quiz
Try the question without looking back, then write a sentence of your own. You can retry as often as you like.
0 of 1 checked correctly
Can you recall the expression?
Complete the example using the expression from this lesson.
The parcel arrived damaged, and to ________, the replacement was sent to the wrong address.
Show the answer
Add insult to injury — To make an already upsetting situation worse with a further unpleasant action or event.
Try your own sentence (optional)
Make it yours
Write one sentence using “Add insult to injury” about your own life.
Check your sentence
Does your sentence match this meaning?
To make an already upsetting situation worse with a further unpleasant action or event.
Compare: The parcel arrived damaged, and to add insult to injury, the replacement was sent to the wrong address.
Check the spelling and how the expression fits the sentence. Your example can be different.
Self-review only. Your sentence is not automatically marked, saved or submitted.
This quiz is for practice. To save lesson completion on this device, complete the checks in the app.
GO DEEPER
More ways to understand and use it
Jump to a section
When to use it
Use it when describing an extra frustration after something has already gone wrong. It is expressive and conversational.
More examples in context
- The café lost our booking; to add insult to injury, we were charged a cancellation fee.
- After rejecting my suggestion without reading it, he added insult to injury by calling me unprepared.
Usage note
“To add insult to injury” often introduces the second problem. Neither a physical injury nor a spoken insult is necessary for the idiom.
A short conversation
A: Did the shop replace the broken lamp?
B: No. To add insult to injury, they said I had to pay to send it back.
A: That sounds very frustrating.
One more practice question
Which situation adds insult to injury?
A. A company loses an order and then blames the customer unfairly.
B. A company fixes a lost order promptly and apologises.
Check your answer
A. The unfair blame makes an existing bad experience worse.
Related lessons
Meaning and usage checked against Cambridge Dictionary. Explanations, examples and conversation are original.