Meanings
- idiomaticuncountableSomething in the past that cannot be controlled or undone, but must be accepted, forgiven, or forgotten.
They agreed that their old disputes were water under the bridge and decided to make a fresh start.
2 more examples
Ilsa: It's been a long time. Sam: Yes, ma'am. A lot of water under the bridge.
1942, Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein, Howard Koch, CasablancaLot of water under the bridge; lot of other stuff, too / Don’t get up, gentlemen, I’m only passing through
2000, Bob Dylan, “Things Have Changed”Synonyms: water over the dam
Synonyms & antonyms
nounSomething in the past that cannot be controlled or undone, but must be accepted, forgiven, or forgotten.
More synonyms by meaning
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
Chinese Mandarin 過去的事 /过去的事
- 過去的事 /过去的事 (guòqù de shì)something in the past that cannot be controlled but must be accepted
Dutch gedane zaken maken geen keer
- gedane zaken maken geen keersomething in the past that cannot be controlled but must be accepted
Finnish mennyt, ollut ja mennyt
- mennytsomething in the past that cannot be controlled but must be accepted
- ollut ja mennytsomething in the past that cannot be controlled but must be accepted
French histoire ancienne, de l'eau a coulé sous les ponts
- histoire anciennesomething in the past that cannot be controlled but must be accepted
- de l'eau a coulé sous les pontssomething in the past that cannot be controlled but must be accepted
German Schnee von gestern
- Schnee von gesternsomething in the past that cannot be controlled but must be accepted
Greek ο γέγονε, γέγονε, νερό κι αλάτι
- ο γέγονε, γέγονε (o gégone, gégone)something in the past that cannot be controlled but must be accepted
- νερό κι αλάτι (neró ki aláti)something in the past that cannot be controlled but must be accepted
Hungarian sok víz lefolyt azóta a Dunán
- sok víz lefolyt azóta a Dunánsomething in the past that cannot be controlled but must be accepted
Japanese 終わったこと
- 終わったこと (owatta koto)something in the past that cannot be controlled but must be accepted
Norwegian Bokmål snøen som falt i fjor
- snøen som falt i fjorsomething in the past that cannot be controlled but must be accepted
Polish po ptokach, było, minęło
- po ptokachsomething in the past that cannot be controlled but must be accepted
- było, minęłosomething in the past that cannot be controlled but must be accepted
Portuguese águas passadas, águas passadas não movem moinhos
- águas passadassomething in the past that cannot be controlled but must be accepted
- águas passadas não movem moinhossomething in the past that cannot be controlled but must be accepted
Russian прошлогодний снег
- прошлогодний снег (prošlogodnij sneg)something in the past that cannot be controlled but must be accepted
Spanish agua pasada
- agua pasadasomething in the past that cannot be controlled but must be accepted
Cite this entry
water under the bridge. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/water%20under%20the%20bridge
“water under the bridge.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/water%20under%20the%20bridge. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “water under the bridge,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/water%20under%20the%20bridge.
Source: water under the bridge on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.