dodged a bullet

Meaning

1. 1phraseidiomfigurative

   Past tense of dodge a bullet: narrowly avoided a danger, problem or bad outcome.

   Grammar: Past form of the idiom; other tenses are dodge, dodges, dodging.

   Patterns

   • dodge a bullet
   • dodge a bullet by doing something

   We dodged a bullet when the buyer pulled out of that disastrous deal.

   I dodged a bullet by missing the flight that was later cancelled.

   She felt she dodged a bullet when the relationship ended.

Word forms

Common combinations

really dodged a bullet

You really dodged a bullet by not joining that company.

feel like you dodged a bullet

I feel like I dodged a bullet with that landlord.

dodged a bullet there

We dodged a bullet there; the bridge collapsed an hour later.

dodge a bullet by

He dodged a bullet by checking the contract first.

barely dodged a bullet

The team barely dodged a bullet when the storm veered away.

Synonyms and how they differ

have a narrow escape

This is the more formal and neutral way to express the same idea.

have a close call

A close call stresses how near danger came, while dodge a bullet stresses the success of avoiding it.

get off lightly

This usually means suffering less punishment than expected, not escaping altogether.

escape by the skin of your teeth

This idiom emphasizes how narrow the escape was and is slightly more dramatic.

Opposites

Word family

dodge verb

to avoid something by moving quickly

dodge noun

a clever trick to avoid something

dodger noun

someone who avoids something, as in tax dodger

bullet noun

a small metal projectile fired from a gun

Commonly confused: dodged a bullet or bite the bullet?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “dodged a bullet”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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