Meaning & use
water under the bridge
Last updated
Meaning
phraseidiominformal
Something unpleasant that happened in the past and is now over, so it is not worth worrying about or arguing about.
Grammar: Used after be or as a short reply: that's water under the bridge.
Patterns
- be water under the bridge
- it's all water under the bridge
We argued for years, but that's all water under the bridge now.
Don't apologize again; it's water under the bridge.
Their old disagreement is water under the bridge, and they now work well together.
Common combinations
- all water under the bridge
- The mistake is all water under the bridge, so let's move on.
- just water under the bridge
- The quarrel is just water under the bridge for them.
- consider it water under the bridge
- Please consider it water under the bridge.
- much water under the bridge
- There has been much water under the bridge since we last met.
Synonyms and how they differ
- bygones
- Bygones appears in 'let bygones be bygones' and is more about choosing to forgive, whereas water under the bridge states that the matter is over.
- in the past
- In the past is neutral and literal, while the idiom adds a message that the issue should be dropped.
- history
- History as in 'that's history' is blunter and can sound dismissive, while the idiom is gentler.
Word family
Commonly confused: water under the bridge or water off a duck's back?
water under the bridge vs water off a duck's back
This idiom means criticism that has no effect. Water under the bridge means a past matter that no longer matters.
Practice
After years of tension, Maria told her brother, "That disagreement is ____, so let's forget it."
Choose one answer.
Water under the bridge means a past problem that is over. A bridge too far means going beyond what is possible, and the others have different meanings.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “water under the bridge”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.