rue the day

verb

To seriously regret one's actions.

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Meanings

verbrue the day (third-person singular simple present rues the day, present participle ruing the day, simple past and past participle rued the day)

present singular third person rues the day · participle present ruing the day · participle past rued the day · past rued the day

  1. idiomaticTo seriously regret one's actions.

    Bet you rue the day you kissed a writer in the dark

    2017, Lorde, “Writer in the Dark”, in Melodrama
    2 more examples

    I: I think there may be something living in there. I think there may be something alive. Withnail: What d'you mean? A rat? I: It's possible. It's possible. Withnail: Then the fucker will rue the day!

    1987, Bruce Robinson, Withnail and I

    As far as they were concerned, he must be ruing the day he ever met Sally.

    2009, Erica James, It's The Little Things
Cite this entry
APA

rue the day. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rue%20the%20day

MLA

“rue the day.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rue%20the%20day. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “rue the day,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rue%20the%20day.

Source: rue the day on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.