Meanings
proverb
alternative what's done cannot be undone
- Events that have already taken place cannot be changed and actions that have already been committed cannot be undone, so it is best not to dwell on them.
As I mentioned in a round-table conversation with my colleagues on Saturday, I’m worried that all too many people will say: Well, in a perfect world Trump should have gone to Congress, but what’s done is done. That is exactly the wrong way to approach this war.
2026 March 1, David French, “War and Peace Cannot Be Left to One Man — Especially Not This Man”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 01 Mar 2026
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
From a line of dialogue spoken by the character Lady Macbeth in Act III Scene II of Macbeth by William Shakespeare.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic مَا حَدَثَ قَد حَدَثَ, مَا فَاتَ قَدْ مَاتْ
- مَا حَدَثَ قَد حَدَثَ (mā ḥadaṯa qad ḥadaṯa)events that have already taken place cannot be changed
- مَا فَاتَ قَدْ مَاتْ (mā fāta qad māt)events that have already taken place cannot be changed
Chinese Mandarin 覆水難收 /覆水难收, 木已成舟
- 覆水難收 /覆水难收 (fùshuǐnánshōu)events that have already taken place cannot be changed
- 木已成舟 (mùyǐchéngzhōu)events that have already taken place cannot be changed
Dutch gedane zaken nemen geen keer
- gedane zaken nemen geen keerevents that have already taken place cannot be changed
Finnish tehty mikä tehty
- tehty mikä tehtyevents that have already taken place cannot be changed
French ce qui est fait est fait, le mal est fait
- ce qui est fait est faitevents that have already taken place cannot be changed
- le mal est faitevents that have already taken place cannot be changed
German was passiert ist, ist passiert
- was passiert ist, ist passiertevents that have already taken place cannot be changed
Hindi जो होगया सों होगया
- जो होगया सों होगया (jo hogyā sõ hogyā)events that have already taken place cannot be changed
Hungarian ez a hajó már elment
- ez a hajó már elmentevents that have already taken place cannot be changed
Irish déantar an méid atá déanta
- déantar an méid atá déantaevents that have already taken place cannot be changed
Japanese 覆水盆に返らず
- 覆水盆に返らず (fukusui bon ni kaerazu)events that have already taken place cannot be changed
Korean 한번 엎지른 물은 다시 주워 담지 못한다
- 한번 엎지른 물은 다시 주워 담지 못한다 (hanbeon eopjireun mur-eun dasi juwo damji mothanda)events that have already taken place cannot be changed
Māori e hoki oti te hūare ki te waha
- e hoki oti te hūare ki te wahaevents that have already taken place cannot be changed
Norwegian Bokmål gjort er gjort
- gjort er gjortevents that have already taken place cannot be changed
Persian کاری است که شده
- کاری است که شده (kâri ast ke šode)events that have already taken place cannot be changed
Polish co się stało, to się nie odstanie, co było, to było
- co się stało, to się nie odstanieevents that have already taken place cannot be changed
- co było, to byłoevents that have already taken place cannot be changed
Portuguese o que está feito está feito
- o que está feito está feitoevents that have already taken place cannot be changed
Romanian ce-a fost, a fost
- ce-a fost, a fostevents that have already taken place cannot be changed
Russian что сде́лано, то сде́лано
- что сде́лано, то сде́лано (što sdélano, to sdélano)events that have already taken place cannot be changed
Scottish Gaelic tha na tha air a dhèanamh air a dhèanamh
- tha na tha air a dhèanamh air a dhèanamhevents that have already taken place cannot be changed
Spanish lo hecho, hecho está, ajo y agua
- lo hecho, hecho estáevents that have already taken place cannot be changed
- ajo y aguaevents that have already taken place cannot be changed
Swedish gjort och klar
- gjort och klarevents that have already taken place cannot be changed
Tagalog nasa huli ang pagsisisi
- nasa huli ang pagsisisievents that have already taken place cannot be changed
Turkish olan oldu
- olan olduevents that have already taken place cannot be changed
Welsh mae'r hyn sy'n cael ei wneud yn cael ei wneud
- mae'r hyn sy'n cael ei wneud yn cael ei wneudevents that have already taken place cannot be changed
Cite this entry
APA
what's done is done. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/what's%20done%20is%20done
MLA
“what's done is done.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/what's%20done%20is%20done. Accessed November 5, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “what's done is done,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/what's%20done%20is%20done.
Source: what's done is done on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.