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Glite Dictionary
water under the bridge

water under the bridge

8 3.9
Something that happened in the past and is no longer important
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : agua pasada
  • Don't worry about our past disagreements; it's all water under the bridge.
  • a lot of water under the bridge
  • just water under the bridge
  • water under the bridge now

So we, we we decided that we both wanted to kind of just talk about water under the bridge.

Examples

  • That's a lot of water under the bridge, huh, Jack?

    The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989)

  • Mr. Wunderlich told the newspaper that it had nothing to do with Ms. Daniels's resignation, calling the episode "water under the bridge."

    Academic text (2016)

  • It's all water under the bridge, I guess.

    Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)

  • It's all water under the bridge now.

    Sleep Easy, Hutch Rimes (2000)

  • It's water under the bridge.

    Short Cuts (1993)

  • Now I guess you think everything that happened is water under the bridge.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • Lots of water under the bridge since then.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • I didn't find out about it till after he was dead, and by then it was water under the bridge.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • I would like to see McGwire admit that steroids did help him, but I suppose that's water under the bridge right now with most fans.

    Blog text (21)

  • "Of course, I know you and she had a few tumbles in the hay once, but all that's water under the bridge now, I guess, huh?"

    Fiction book (1996)

Synonyms

a thing of the past
vswater under the bridge
  • Informal
29 3.8

Something that people do not use or think about anymore

applies more to past disappearance than to mere lack of importance
old shit
vswater under the bridge
  • Offensive
10 9.9

Problems from the past people keep bringing up

is formal or neutral and simply notes past matters without annoyance
ancient history
vswater under the bridge
  • Informal
9 4.4

A past event or fact that many people no longer care about

means past events that may be recent and unimportant, not necessarily very old
dead and buried
vswater under the bridge
  • Informal
8 3.9

Completely finished and no longer talked about

is less absolute, focusing on past events not worth discussing now
relic of the past
vswater under the bridge
2 7.2

An object, custom, or idea from long ago that seems out of date

is about past events being not worth discussing, not just old remnants
non-issue
vswater under the bridge
5.0

Something that is no longer important or worth talking about

refers specifically to past events that are no longer important to discuss
water over the dam
vswater under the bridge
  • Informal
7.5

Something bad that already happened and cannot be changed so do not worry about it

focuses on past matters that are now unimportant rather than unchangeable
trash heap of history
vswater under the bridge
  • Informal
8.9

Ideas or things people now see as old and useless

is more neutral, saying something is simply past and unimportant

Surface Forms

water under the bridge singular
water under the bridges plural

Morphology

water + under + the + bridge

The phrase evokes the literal image of water flowing beneath a bridge to indicate something that has passed and cannot be changed; a learner who knows the words may infer a sense of pastness but not necessarily the pragmatic nuance that it is no longer important or worth discussing. The meaning relies on a figurative mapping (flowing away/irretrievable) that is somewhat predictable from the parts but requires cultural/idiomatic knowledge, so it is not fully transparent.

Etymology

Water under the bridge uses the image of water flowing under a bridge and moving on, so you cannot get it back. That's why it means 'something in the past that is no longer important'.