# bite the bullet

idiom · CEFR B1

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/bite-the-bullet
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

To accept a negative aspect of a situation in order to proceed.

## Examples

- I hate the dentist, but I'll bite the bullet and go.
- The repairs were expensive, but we decided to bite the bullet and pay for them.
- After putting it off for years, she finally bit the bullet, quit her stable job, and started the business she had always dreamed of.

## Origin

Traditionally said to come from soldiers biting a bullet during battlefield surgery without anaesthetic; first recorded figuratively in Kipling's The Light That Failed (1891). (folk)

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.