Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
to close the stable door after the horse has bolted

to close the stable door after the horse has bolted

8.5
To do something useful only after it is already too late
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : cerrar la puerta del establo después de que el caballo se ha escapado
  • Trying to improve security now is just closing the stable door after the horse has bolted.

Examples

  • Making these changes is simply closing the stable door after the horse has bolted.

  • It's pointless to close the stable door after the horse has bolted now.

  • Apologizing now feels like closing the stable door after the horse has bolted.

  • Don't close the stable door after the horse has bolted by ignoring the warning signs!

  • Apologizing now feels like closing the stable door after the horse has bolted.

  • Making these changes is simply closing the stable door after the horse has bolted.

  • Trying to improve security now is just closing the stable door after the horse has bolted.

Synonyms

to flog a dead horse
vsto close the stable door after the horse has bolted
  • Informal
1 7.5

To waste effort on something that cannot succeed

act after problem happened when prevention is already impossible

Antonyms

proaction
7.8

To take action before a problem happens

preventiveness
7.3

The ability to stop something from happening

Surface Forms

close the stable door after the horse has bolted infinitive
closed the stable door after the horse has bolted past
closed the stable door after the horse has bolted past participle
closing the stable door after the horse has bolted present participle
closes the stable door after the horse has bolted third person singular

Morphology

close + the + stable + door + after + the + horse + has + bolt

The literal phrase describes a scenario—shutting a stable door after the horse has already escaped—that directly models taking action too late, so a learner who knows the words can often infer the general meaning. However, it is a conventional proverb requiring metaphorical mapping and some cultural background (stables/horses), so the judgment is not fully predictable for all B1 learners.

Etymology

Close the stable door after the horse has bolted comes from a simple farm picture: the horse has already bolted, or 'run away', and only then someone closes the stable door. So, it means 'to do something too late'.