Word.ws English Dictionary

toothpaste is out of the tube

toothpaste is out of the tube phrase: a situation that cannot be recovered or reversed back to its original state.

Phrase

the toothpaste is out of the tube

  1. (idiomatic) A situation that cannot be recovered or reversed back to its original state.

Origin of toothpaste is out of the tube

From the practical impossibility of getting toothpaste back into a tube once it is squirted out.

Questions about toothpaste is out of the tube

What does toothpaste is out of the tube mean?
Toothpaste is out of the tube means a situation that cannot be recovered or reversed back to its original state.
What part of speech is toothpaste is out of the tube?
Toothpaste is out of the tube is a phrase.

Words near toothpaste is out of the tube in the dictionary

  1. toothmug
  2. toothmugs
  3. toothpad
  4. toothpads
  5. toothpaste
  6. toothpaste is out of the tube
  7. toothpasted
  8. toothpastes
  9. toothpastey
  10. toothpasting
  11. toothpasty

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: toothpaste is out of the tube (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-toothpaste is out of the tube.ogg.

Cite this entry: “toothpaste is out of the tube.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/toothpaste_is_out_of_the_tube. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.