Rate this phrase:0.0 / 0 votes

bite the bullet

to force yourself to do something unpleasant or difficult, or to be brave in a difficult situation

Etymology:

  • This term came into existence during the 19th century. Before local anesthesia most soldiers were operated by placing a rubber bullet in their mouth. Whenever they felt pain they used to bite the bullet and endured the pain throughout the treatment. It was an effective way of dealing with pain as, soldiers used to bite the bullet when they felt pain and the surgeon worked without getting distracted.
22 Views
“

I hate going to the dentist, but I'll have to just bite the bullet, make the appointment and go.

Collection   Edit    

Submitted on February 25, 2019

Modified by TriplePurple on April 07, 2024

Additional definitions for 'bite the bullet':

bite the bulletTo accept a negative aspect of a situation in order to continue moving forward.
bite the bulletTo endure a punishment or consequence with dignity or stoicism.
bite the bulletto force yourself to do something unpleasant or difficult, or to be brave in a difficult situation
See them all »

Translation

Find a translation for the bite the bullet phrase in other languages:

Select another language:

  • - Select -
  • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
  • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
  • Español (Spanish)
  • Esperanto (Esperanto)
  • 日本語 (Japanese)
  • Português (Portuguese)
  • Deutsch (German)
  • العربية (Arabic)
  • Français (French)
  • Русский (Russian)
  • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
  • 한국어 (Korean)
  • עברית (Hebrew)
  • Gaeilge (Irish)
  • Українська (Ukrainian)
  • اردو (Urdu)
  • Magyar (Hungarian)
  • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
  • Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Italiano (Italian)
  • தமிழ் (Tamil)
  • Türkçe (Turkish)
  • తెలుగు (Telugu)
  • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
  • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
  • Čeština (Czech)
  • Polski (Polish)
  • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Românește (Romanian)
  • Nederlands (Dutch)
  • Ελληνικά (Greek)
  • Latinum (Latin)
  • Svenska (Swedish)
  • Dansk (Danish)
  • Suomi (Finnish)
  • فارسی (Persian)
  • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
  • հայերեն (Armenian)
  • Norsk (Norwegian)
  • English (English)

Nearby phrases

Some more phrases from our dictionary similar to bite the bullet

bite to eatbite the hand that feeds onebite one's tongueevery bullet has its billeteat an elephant one bite at a timebite one's tonguebite the big onebite the biscuitbite someone's head offbite the big oneBite Off More Than You Can Chewbite the dustdon't bite the newbiedon't let the bedbugs bite

How to pronounce this phrase?

Discuss this bite the bullet phrase with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this bite the bullet definition to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "bite the bullet." Phrases.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 25 Apr. 2024. <https://www.phrases.com/phrase/bite-the-bullet_44494>.

    Powered by CITE.ME Cite.Me

    We need you!

    Help us build the largest human-edited phrases collection on the web!

    Quiz

    Are you a phrases master?

    »
    Time ______ still.
    A holds
    B stands
    C waits
    D resides

    Browse Phrases.com

    #ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ