Meanings
- idiomaticA conclusive action has been taken, so events will proceed in an irreversible manner; the point of no return has been passed; the future is determined; there are no more options.
The die is cast. I cannot go back. I must get ready. Will you see me to the station?
1879, George Meredith, “At the Railway Station”, in The Egoist: A Comedy in Narrative. […], volume II, London: C[harles] Kegan Paul & Co., […], →OCLC, page 1881 more example
Is the die caſt, muſt / At this one throvv all thou haſt gaind be loſt? / The VVorlds a Lott'ry; He that dravves may vvin: / VVho nothing ventur's, looks for nothing;[…]
[1634, H. H., “[Dedication by H. H.]”, in T[homas] H[erbert], A Relation of Some Yeares Trauaile, Begunne Anno 1626. into Afrique and the Greater Asia, […], London: […] William Stansby, and Jacob Bloome, →OCLCSynonyms: genie is out of the bottle, les jeux sont faits, you can't put the toothpaste back in the tube, you can't unring a bell
Synonyms & antonyms
phraseA conclusive action has been taken, so events will proceed in an irreversible manner; the point of no return has been passed; the future is determined; there are no more options.
Origin
- Latiniacta ālea est
- Englishthe die is cast
Calque of Latin iacta ālea est, which is grammatically, and thereby semantically, an incorrect translation by the Roman historian Suetonius (c. 69 – p. 122 C.E.) in his work Vīta Dīvī Iūlī (On the Life of the Caesars, 121 C.E.) of the Ancient Greek ἀνερρίφθω κύβος (anerrhíphthō kúbos), which was said to have been spoken by Julius Caesar (100 – 44 B.C.E.) when he crossed the Rubicon to irreversibly begin a civil war in the Roman Republic (see cross the Rubicon). Caesar was quoting from the comedy Ἀρρηφόρῳ (Arrhēphórōi, The Bearer of Ritual Objects) by the dramatist Menander (c. 342 or 341 – c. 290 B.C.E.). The Greek phrase is more accurately translated as “let the die be cast” (meaning “let the game be played” and implying “let us proceed irreversibly”), and refers a game of chance in which the outcome is determined by the throwing of dice or a single die.
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek ἀνερρίφθω κύβος
- ἀνερρίφθω κύβος (anerrhíphthō kúbos)a conclusive action has been taken, so events will proceed in an irreversible manner
Arabic سبق السيف العذل, حُصِّلَ مَا فِي الصُدُورِ
- سبق السيف العذلa conclusive action has been taken, so events will proceed in an irreversible manner
- حُصِّلَ مَا فِي الصُدُورِ (ḥuṣṣila mā fī ṣ-ṣudūri)a conclusive action has been taken, so events will proceed in an irreversible manner
Basque zortea botata dago
- zortea botata dagoa conclusive action has been taken, so events will proceed in an irreversible manner
Bulgarian зарът е хвърлен
- зарът е хвърлен (zarăt e hvărlen)a conclusive action has been taken, so events will proceed in an irreversible manner
Catalan el dau ha estat tirat, la sort ha sigut llançada
- el dau ha estat tirata conclusive action has been taken, so events will proceed in an irreversible manner
- la sort ha sigut llançadaa conclusive action has been taken, so events will proceed in an irreversible manner
- s'ha tirat el daua conclusive action has been taken, so events will proceed in an irreversible manner
Chinese Mandarin 骰子已經擲出去了 /骰子已经掷出去了
- 骰子已經擲出去了 /骰子已经掷出去了 (tóuzi yǐjīng zhì chūqù le)a conclusive action has been taken, so events will proceed in an irreversible manner
Czech kostky byly vrženy, kostky jsou vrženy
- kostky byly vrženya conclusive action has been taken, so events will proceed in an irreversible manner
- kostky jsou vrženya conclusive action has been taken, so events will proceed in an irreversible manner
Danish terningen er kastet
- terningen er kasteta conclusive action has been taken, so events will proceed in an irreversible manner
Dutch de teerling is geworpen
- de teerling is geworpena conclusive action has been taken, so events will proceed in an irreversible manner
Esperanto la ĵetkubo estas ĵetita, la sorto estas ĵetita
- la ĵetkubo estas ĵetitaa conclusive action has been taken, so events will proceed in an irreversible manner
- la sorto estas ĵetitaa conclusive action has been taken, so events will proceed in an irreversible manner
Estonian liisk on langenud
- liisk on langenuda conclusive action has been taken, so events will proceed in an irreversible manner
Finnish arpa on heitetty
- arpa on heitettya conclusive action has been taken, so events will proceed in an irreversible manner
French le sort en est jeté, les dés sont jetés
- le sort en est jetéa conclusive action has been taken, so events will proceed in an irreversible manner
- les dés sont jetésa conclusive action has been taken, so events will proceed in an irreversible manner
- advienne que pourraa conclusive action has been taken, so events will proceed in an irreversible manner
- alea jacta esta conclusive action has been taken, so events will proceed in an irreversible manner
- les jeux sont faitsa conclusive action has been taken, so events will proceed in an irreversible manner
German die Würfel sind gefallen
- die Würfel sind gefallena conclusive action has been taken, so events will proceed in an irreversible manner
Greek ο κύβος ερρίφθη
- ο κύβος ερρίφθη (o kývos errífthi)a conclusive action has been taken, so events will proceed in an irreversible manner
Hebrew הַפּוּר נָפַל
- הַפּוּר נָפַל (hapúr nafál)a conclusive action has been taken, so events will proceed in an irreversible manner
Hungarian a kocka el van vetve
- a kocka el van vetvea conclusive action has been taken, so events will proceed in an irreversible manner
Icelandic teningnum er kastað, teningunum er kastað
- teningnum er kastaða conclusive action has been taken, so events will proceed in an irreversible manner
- teningunum er kastaða conclusive action has been taken, so events will proceed in an irreversible manner
Italian il dado è tratto
- il dado è trattoa conclusive action has been taken, so events will proceed in an irreversible manner
Japanese 賽は投げられた
- 賽は投げられた (sai wa nagerareta)a conclusive action has been taken, so events will proceed in an irreversible manner
Korean 주사위는 던져졌다
- 주사위는 던져졌다 (jusawi-neun deonjeojeotda)a conclusive action has been taken, so events will proceed in an irreversible manner
Latin ālea iacta est, iacta ālea est
- ālea iacta esta conclusive action has been taken, so events will proceed in an irreversible manner
- iacta ālea esta conclusive action has been taken, so events will proceed in an irreversible manner
Malay nasi sudah menjadi bubur
- nasi sudah menjadi bubura conclusive action has been taken, so events will proceed in an irreversible manner
Norwegian Bokmål terningen er kastet
- terningen er kasteta conclusive action has been taken, so events will proceed in an irreversible manner
Persian تاسها پرتاب شدهاند
- تاسها پرتاب شدهاند (tâs-hâ partâb šode-and)a conclusive action has been taken, so events will proceed in an irreversible manner
Polish kości zostały rzucone
- kości zostały rzuconea conclusive action has been taken, so events will proceed in an irreversible manner
Portuguese a sorte está lançada, os dados estão lançados
- a sorte está lançadaa conclusive action has been taken, so events will proceed in an irreversible manner
- os dados estão lançadosa conclusive action has been taken, so events will proceed in an irreversible manner
Romanian zarul este aruncat
- zarul este aruncata conclusive action has been taken, so events will proceed in an irreversible manner
Russian жре́бий бро́шен
- жре́бий бро́шен (žrébij bróšen)a conclusive action has been taken, so events will proceed in an irreversible manner
Scottish Gaelic dè a bhios ann, tachraidh e
- dè a bhios ann, tachraidh ea conclusive action has been taken, so events will proceed in an irreversible manner
Slovak kocky sú hodené
- kocky sú hodenéa conclusive action has been taken, so events will proceed in an irreversible manner
Spanish la suerte está echada
- la suerte está echadaa conclusive action has been taken, so events will proceed in an irreversible manner
Swedish tärningen är kastad
- tärningen är kastada conclusive action has been taken, so events will proceed in an irreversible manner
Turkish zar atıldı
- zar atıldıa conclusive action has been taken, so events will proceed in an irreversible manner
Ukrainian гральну кістку кинуто, жереб кинуто
- гральну кістку кинуто (hralʹnu kistku kynuto)a conclusive action has been taken, so events will proceed in an irreversible manner
- жереб кинуто (žereb kynuto)a conclusive action has been taken, so events will proceed in an irreversible manner
Vietnamese tương lai tiền định
- tương lai tiền địnha conclusive action has been taken, so events will proceed in an irreversible manner
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with the die is cast
Cite this entry
the die is cast. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/the%20die%20is%20cast
“the die is cast.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/the%20die%20is%20cast. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “the die is cast,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/the%20die%20is%20cast.
Source: the die is cast on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.