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Glite Dictionary
that's that

that's that

37 5.1
A final decision that cannot be changed or discussed
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : y ya está
  • A leader took care of his men; that was that.
  • So that's that
  • Yeah, that's that
  • Well, that's that

Examples

  • I'm taking you out, and that's that.

    Lilo & Stitch (2025)

  • A few ropes secured it in place, and that was that.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • So, what I want is my ring, and that is that, period.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • I just told them everything I knew, they thanked me, and that was that.

    Spinning Man (2018)

  • Well, I guess that's that.

    Boom Town (1940)

  • The marriage is over, and that's that.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • I'm determined to marry her and that's that.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • "So that's that," I said, smiling, but she wouldn't smile back.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • "Well, then," Krake said, "that's that, isn't it?"

    Fiction book (1991)

  • I wrote her a few letters and got one or two back, and that's that.

Synonyms

to leave it at that
vsthat's that
49 5.3

To stop talking about an issue and accept it as it is

is a declaration that a decision is final rather than an instruction
end of story
vsthat's that
  • Informal
1 5.3

A phrase that shows a decision is final and cannot be discussed

is a final decision statement rather than an emphatic narrative ending
that's all she wrote
vsthat's that
  • Informal
1 9.2

The end when nothing more can be said or done

is used to insist a decision is final rather than simply ending events
to leave at that
vsthat's that
4.6

Stop discussing a topic and not talk about it more

is a firm final statement beyond merely stopping discussion now
all over bar the shouting
vsthat's that
  • UK
9.9

Only small formal steps remain before the result is final

declares a settled decision with no remaining actions or discussion

How Final

that's that
  • Informal
37 5.1
end of story
  • Informal
1 5.3
that's all she wrote
  • Informal
1 9.2
all over with
  • Informal
5 2.8

Surface Forms

that's that main

Morphology

that's + that

The phrase is essentially a reduced form of 'that is that' where the demonstrative 'that' plus the copula signals the situation is settled; a B1 learner who knows the constituents can often infer a sense of finality or closure. However, its pragmatic, discourse-closing use is idiomatic and conventional rather than purely compositional, so the exact force ('no further discussion') may not be fully predictable without exposure.

Etymology

That's that comes from the image of someone pointing at a finished choice and closing the matter as if they were done with it. So, when people say that's that, they mean the decision is 'final' and there will be 'no more discussion'.