closing the stable door after the horse has bolted

A form of close the stable door after the horse has bolted — To attempt to prevent a problem that has already occurred; to design and implement a preventive mechanism that is too late (after the first failure instead of before).

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Meanings

verb
  1. gerundparticiplepresentpresent participle and gerund of close the stable door after the horse has bolted
Cite this entry
APA

closing the stable door after the horse has bolted. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/closing%20the%20stable%20door%20after%20the%20horse%20has%20bolted

MLA

“closing the stable door after the horse has bolted.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/closing%20the%20stable%20door%20after%20the%20horse%20has%20bolted. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “closing the stable door after the horse has bolted,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/closing%20the%20stable%20door%20after%20the%20horse%20has%20bolted.

Source: closing the stable door after the horse has bolted on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.