burn one's bridges
burn one's bridges verb: to destroy one's path, connections, reputation, opportunities, etc., particularly intentionally.
Verb
burn one's bridges (third-person singular simple present burns one's bridges, present participle burning one's bridges, simple past and past participle burned one's bridges or burnt one's bridges)
- To destroy one's path, connections, reputation, opportunities, etc., particularly intentionally.
- Don't you burn your bridges behind you / You might wanna turn and come back again / The bridge you burn today, you may need it again for tomorrow / Might bring sorrow1974, Ecstasy, Passion & Pain, “Don't Burn Your Bridges Behind You”, in Ecstasy, Passion & Pain
- Synonyms:
- cross the Rubicon
burn one's bridges meaning in Arabic
burn one's bridges in Arabic
- burn one's bridges
- حَرَقَ اَلسُّفُن ḥaraqa s-sufun, قَطَعَ اَلْجُسُور qaṭaʕa l-jusūr, قَطَعَ كُلّ عَلَاقَات qaṭaʕa kull ʕalāqāt
Synonyms of burn one's bridges
Forms of burn one's bridges
| third-person singular present | burns one's bridges |
|---|---|
| present participle | burning one's bridges |
| past participle | burned one's bridges |
| past | burned one's bridges |
| past participle | burnt one's bridges |
| past | burnt one's bridges |
Origin of burn one's bridges
Originally in the military sense of intentionally cutting off one's own retreat (burning a bridge one has crossed) to commit oneself to a course of action, later used primarily to mean alienate former friends.
Words formed from burn one's bridges
Questions about burn one's bridges
- What does burn one's bridges mean?
- Burn one's bridges means to destroy one's path, connections, reputation, opportunities, etc., particularly intentionally.
- What is burn one's bridges in Arabic?
- Burn one's bridges in Arabic is حَرَقَ اَلسُّفُن (ḥaraqa s-sufun), قَطَعَ اَلْجُسُور (qaṭaʕa l-jusūr), قَطَعَ كُلّ عَلَاقَات (qaṭaʕa kull ʕalāqāt). See Burn one's bridges meaning in Arabic.
- What part of speech is burn one's bridges?
- Burn one's bridges is a verb.
- What is the past tense of burn one's bridges?
- The past tense of burn one's bridges is burned one's bridges.
Words near burn one's bridges in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: burn one's bridges (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-au-burn one's bridges.ogg.
Cite this entry: “burn one's bridges.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/burn_one%27s_bridges. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.