sweat bullets.

To be extremely nervous or worried about a demanding or uncertain situation.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• sweat bullets over an interview
• have someone sweating bullets
• sit there sweating bullets

On the page

I was sweating bullets while they checked my permit.

The missing folder had the whole team sweating bullets.

He sweats bullets before every audition, even after twenty years on stage.

Usage notes

Primary category: fear. Informal American idiom; does not require literal heavy sweating and differs from sweat buckets, which can simply mean perspire heavily. Sweat, sweats, sweated, sweated, sweating bullets; bullets remains plural.