# come home to roost

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/come-home-to-roost
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

To have negative consequences (of an action in the past).

## Examples

- His bad decisions have finally come home to roost.
- After years of ignoring his car's maintenance, the engine failure finally came home to roost during his long road trip.
- The politician's history of broken promises eventually came home to roost when voters refused to support his reelection campaign.

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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.