Word.ws English Dictionary

burned that bridge when one came to it

burned that bridge when one came to it is the simple past and past participle of burn that bridge when one comes to it.

Meaning of burn that bridge when one comes to it

Verb

burn that bridge when one comes to it (third-person singular simple present burns that bridge when one comes to it, present participle burning that bridge when one comes to it, simple past and past participle burned that bridge when one came to it or burnt that bridge when one came to it)

  1. (idiomatic) To anticipate dealing with a problem or situation either by acting in a manner that alienates or cuts ties with others, or merely with the expectation of encountering trouble.
    • That takes care of Kay. As for the man, I'll burn that bridge when I come to it.1941, Frank Leslie eds. et al., The American Magazine, volume 132, page 44

Questions about burned that bridge when one came to it

What is burned that bridge when one came to it the simple past and past participle of?
Burned that bridge when one came to it is the simple past and past participle of burn that bridge when one comes to it.

Words near burned that bridge when one came to it in the dictionary

  1. burned pavement
  2. burned rubber
  3. burned someone at the stake
  4. burned someone's ass
  5. burned someone's ears
  6. burned that bridge when one came to it
  7. burned the candle at both ends
  8. burned the coal
  9. burned the midnight oil
  10. burned the roof
  11. burned the water

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: burned that bridge when one came to it (page history and authors); burn that bridge when one comes to it (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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