Word.ws English Dictionary

the straw that broke the camel's back

the straw that broke the camel's back noun: a small and seemingly insignificant addition to a burden that renders it too much to bear; the small thing which causes failure, or causes inability or unwillingness to endure any more of something.

Noun

the straw that broke the camel’s back

  1. (idiomatic) A small and seemingly insignificant addition to a burden that renders it too much to bear; the small thing which causes failure, or causes inability or unwillingness to endure any more of something.
    • As the last straw breaks the laden camel's back, this piece of underground information crushed the sinking spirits of Mr. Dombey.1846 October 1 – 1848 April 1, Charles Dickens, chapter II, in Dombey and Son, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1848, →OCLC, page 13

the straw that broke the camel's back meaning in Thai and Vietnamese

the straw that broke the camel's back in Thai

small additional burden which causes failure
ฟางเส้นสุดท้ายที่ทำให้หลังอูฐหัก

the straw that broke the camel's back in Vietnamese

small additional burden which causes failure
Giọt nước làm tràn ly

Synonyms of the straw that broke the camel's back

Origin of the straw that broke the camel's back

Possibly from the proverb, recorded by Thomas Fuller in his Gnomologia (1732) as “’Tis the last Feather, that breaks the Horse’s Back.” This comes from an Arab proverb about loading up a camel beyond its capacity to move.

Questions about the straw that broke the camel's back

What does the straw that broke the camel's back mean?
The straw that broke the camel's back means a small and seemingly insignificant addition to a burden that renders it too much to bear; the small thing which causes failure, or causes inability or unwillingness to endure any more of something.
What is the straw that broke the camel's back in Thai?
The straw that broke the camel's back in Thai is ฟางเส้นสุดท้ายที่ทำให้หลังอูฐหัก. See The straw that broke the camel's back meaning in Thai.
What part of speech is the straw that broke the camel's back?
The straw that broke the camel's back is a noun.

Words near the straw that broke the camel's back in the dictionary

  1. the squeaky wheel gets the oil
  2. the squirts
  3. the sticks
  4. The Storm
  5. the story goes
  6. the straw that broke the camel's back
  7. the Street
  8. the streets are paved with gold
  9. The Strip
  10. the stroke that broke the camel's back
  11. the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: the straw that broke the camel's back (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 straw that broke the camel's back.ogg.

Cite this entry: “the straw that broke the camel's back.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/the_straw_that_broke_the_camel%27s_back. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.