cross that bridge when one comes to it

verb

To deal with a problem or situation only if and when it arises.

“It's possible we'll eventually have more books than available space for them, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.”

Opposite
cross a bridge before one comes to it
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

verbcross that bridge when one comes to it (third-person singular simple present crosses that bridge when one comes to it, present participle crossing that bridge when one comes to it, simple past and past participle crossed that bridge when one came to it)

present singular third person crosses that bridge when one comes to it · participle present crossing that bridge when one comes to it · participle past crossed that bridge when one came to it · past crossed that bridge when one came to it · alternative cross that bridge when one gets there · alternative cross that bridge when one gets to it

  1. idiomaticTo deal with a problem or situation only if and when it arises.

    It's possible we'll eventually have more books than available space for them, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

    1 more example

    They might be willing to admit, OK, yeah, if you invent superintelligence, things will probably be crazy. But I’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.

    2025 April 11, Kevin Roose, Casey Newton, “Big Tech’s Tariff Chaos + A.I. 2027 + Llama Drama”, in The New York Times (Hard Fork podcast), →ISSN

Synonyms & antonyms

Opposite
cross a bridge before one comes to it

Origin

A metaphor for an idea being like a train of thought and the problem being like the bridge.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Cantonese 船到橋頭自然直 /船到桥头自然直
  • 船到橋頭自然直 /船到桥头自然直 (syun⁴ dou³ kiu⁴ tau⁴ zi⁶ jin⁴ zik⁶)deal with something only when it arises
Chinese Mandarin 船到橋頭自然直 /船到桥头自然直
  • 船到橋頭自然直 /船到桥头自然直 (chuán dào qiáotóu zì rán zhí)deal with something only when it arises
Finnish ratkaistaan se ongelma vasta sitten, kun se tulee eteen
  • ratkaistaan se ongelma vasta sitten, kun se tulee eteendeal with something only when it arises
French voir le moment venu
  • voir le moment venudeal with something only when it arises
German kommt Zeit, kommt Rat, alles zu seiner Zeit
  • kommt Zeit, kommt Ratdeal with something only when it arises
  • alles zu seiner Zeitdeal with something only when it arises
Hebrew כְּשֶׁנַּגִּיעַ לַגֶּשֶׁר נַעֲבֹר אוֹתוֹ
  • כְּשֶׁנַּגִּיעַ לַגֶּשֶׁר נַעֲבֹר אוֹתוֹ (kshenagí'a lagésher na'avór otó)deal with something only when it arises
Hungarian (majd) akkor kelünk át a folyón/hídon, amikor odaérünk
  • (majd) akkor kelünk át a folyón/hídon, amikor odaérünkdeal with something only when it arises
Italian quando ci arriviamo, ci pensiamo
  • quando ci arriviamo, ci pensiamodeal with something only when it arises
Polish nie martwić się na zapas
  • nie martwić się na zapasdeal with something only when it arises
Swedish den dagen, den sorgen
  • den dagen, den sorgendeal with something only when it arises
Cite this entry
APA

cross that bridge when one comes to it. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cross%20that%20bridge%20when%20one%20comes%20to%20it

MLA

“cross that bridge when one comes to it.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cross%20that%20bridge%20when%20one%20comes%20to%20it. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cross that bridge when one comes to it,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cross%20that%20bridge%20when%20one%20comes%20to%20it.

Source: cross that bridge when one comes to it on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.