BITE THE BULLET Definition & Meaning

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bite the bullet

To adjust to unpleasant circumstances: “The severe drought is forcing everybody to bite the bullet and use less water.” Before anesthesia, people undergoing surgery would bite on a bullet to help them withstand the pain.

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Idioms and Phrases

Behave bravely or stoically when facing pain or a difficult situation, as in If they want to cut the budget deficit, they are going to have to bite the bullet and find new sources of revenue . This phrase is of military origin, but the precise allusion is uncertain. Some say it referred to the treatment of a wounded soldier without anesthesia, so that he would be asked to bite on a lead bullet during treatment. Also, Francis Grose's Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue (1796) holds that grenadiers being disciplined with the cat-o'nine-tails would bite on a bullet to avoid crying out in pain.

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Example Sentences

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He says he had been "putting theatre off for a really long time" but decided to bite the bullet as he wanted to push himself - and push himself he did as it's no easy feat to stand on an almost empty stage for 90 minutes and perform a monologue.

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He said he and his wife Carol would have to "bite the bullet" when it came to their finances.

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"There was just something about this year where I thought if I didn't apply I would probably just sit and watch it and regret that I didn't. I just thought 'bite the bullet... what's the worst that could happen?'."

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“They’re just going to bite the bullet and do it,” Reames said by phone.

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“I’ll bite the bullet again,” Gobert said after that game.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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bite the bullet

Idioms and Phrases

Example Sentences