Meaning & use
beating a dead horse
Continuing to argue about or work on something that has already been settled or that is clearly futile.
See it in a sentence
Arguing about the old policy now is just beating a dead horse; the decision is final.
He kept explaining his point, but by then he was just beating a dead horse.
A note on using this word
This idiom tells someone their continued effort or argument is pointless because nothing more can be achieved.
Words with a similar meaning
flogging a dead horse
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
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