the die is cast
UK/ðə ˌdaɪ ɪz ˈkɑːst/
More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations
Northern England/ðə ˌdaɪ ɪz ˈkast/
the die is cast phrase: a conclusive action has been taken, so events will proceed in an irreversible manner; the point of no return has been passed; the future is determined; there are no more options.
Phrase
the die is cast
- A conclusive action has been taken, so events will proceed in an irreversible manner; the point of no return has been passed; the future is determined; there are no more options.
- Is the die caſt, muſt / At this one throvv all thou haſt gaind be loſt? / The VVorlds a Lott'ry; He that dravves may vvin: / VVho nothing ventur's, looks for nothing;[…][1634, H. H., “[Dedication by H. H.]”, in T[homas] H[erbert], A Relation of Some Yeares Trauaile, Begunne Anno 1626. into Afrique and the Greater Asia, […], London: […] William Stansby, and Jacob...
- The die is cast. I cannot go back. I must get ready. Will you see me to the station?1879, George Meredith, “At the Railway Station”, in The Egoist: A Comedy in Narrative. […], volume II, London: C[harles] Kegan Paul & Co., […], →OCLC, page 188
- Synonyms:
- genie is out of the bottle, les jeux sont faits, you can't put the toothpaste back in the tube, you can't unring a bell
the die is cast meaning in Arabic, Malay, Persian and Vietnamese
the die is cast in Arabic
- a conclusive action has been taken, so events will proceed in an irreversible manner
- سبق السيف العذل, حُصِّلَ مَا فِي الصُدُورِ ḥuṣṣila mā fī ṣ-ṣudūri
the die is cast in Malay
- a conclusive action has been taken, so events will proceed in an irreversible manner
- nasi sudah menjadi bubur
the die is cast in Persian
- a conclusive action has been taken, so events will proceed in an irreversible manner
- تاسها پرتاب شدهاند tâs-hâ partâb šode-and
the die is cast in Vietnamese
- a conclusive action has been taken, so events will proceed in an irreversible manner
- tương lai tiền định
Synonyms of the die is cast
- genie is out of the bottle
- les jeux sont faits
- you can't put the toothpaste back in the tube
- you can't unring a bell
Origin of the die is cast
Calque of Latin iacta ālea est, which is grammatically, and thereby semantically, an incorrect translation by the Roman historian Suetonius (c. 69 – p. 122 C.E.) in his work Vīta Dīvī Iūlī (On the Life of the Caesars, 121 C.E.) of the Ancient Greek ἀνερρίφθω κύβος (anerrhíphthō kúbos), which was said to have been spoken by Julius Caesar (100 – 44 B.C.E.) when he crossed the Rubicon to irreversibly begin a civil war in the Roman Republic (see cross the Rubicon). Caesar was quoting from the comedy Ἀρρηφόρῳ (Arrhēphórōi, The Bearer of Ritual Objects) by the dramatist Menander (c. 342 or 341 – c. 290 B.C.E.). The Greek phrase is more accurately translated as “let the die be cast” (meaning “let the game be played” and implying “let us proceed irreversibly”), and refers a game of chance in which the outcome is determined by the throwing of dice or a single die.
Words that rhyme with the die is cast
Questions about the die is cast
- What does the die is cast mean?
- The die is cast means a conclusive action has been taken, so events will proceed in an irreversible manner; the point of no return has been passed; the future is determined; there are no more options.
- What is the die is cast in Arabic?
- The die is cast in Arabic is سبق السيف العذل, حُصِّلَ مَا فِي الصُدُورِ (ḥuṣṣila mā fī ṣ-ṣudūri). See The die is cast meaning in Arabic.
- What part of speech is the die is cast?
- The die is cast is a phrase.
- How do you pronounce the die is cast?
- The die is cast is pronounced /ðə ˌdaɪ ɪz ˈkɑːst/ (UK).
Words near the die is cast in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: the die is cast (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.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-the die is cast.ogg.
Cite this entry: “the die is cast.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/the_die_is_cast. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.