burn one's bridges

English

Etymology

Originally in 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”.

Pronunciation

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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)

1. (idiomatic) To destroy one's path, connections, reputation, opportunities, etc., particularly intentionally.

   Synonym: cross the Rubicon

   Even if you are dismissed from a job in the worst way, take care not to burn your bridges with unseemly comments on the way out, since you never know who you will meet again.

Derived terms

• burn that bridge when one comes to it

Related terms

• build bridges

Translations

burn one's bridges

• Arabic: حَرَقَ اَلسُّفُن (ḥaraqa s-sufun), قَطَعَ اَلْجُسُور (qaṭaʕa l-jusūr), قَطَعَ كُلّ عَلَاقَات (qaṭaʕa kull ʕalāqāt)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 過河拆橋／过河拆桥 (zh) (guò hé chāi qiáo) (cross the river, tear down the bridge), 破釜沉舟 (zh) (pòfǔchénzhōu) (smash the (cooking) pots and sink the boats)

• Danish: (to burn all bridges) brænde alle broer, (to break all bridges) bryde alle broer, (to burn all bridges behind oneself) brænde alle broer bag sig, (to break all bridges behind oneself) bryde alle broer bag sig
• Dutch: je schepen achter je verbranden (literally “burning your ships behind you”)
• Finnish: polttaa siltansa
• French: faire sauter les ponts, couper les ponts (fr), brûler les ponts (fr), brûler ses vaisseaux (fr)
• German: (burn all bridges behind oneself) alle Brücken hinter sich abbrechen (de)
• Icelandic: (burn all bridges behind oneself) brenna allar brýr að baki sér, (break all bridges behind oneself) brjóta allar brýr að baki sér
• Italian: bruciarsi i ponti alle spalle, il dado è tratto, passare il Rubicone
• Japanese: 関係を絶つ (かんけいをたつ, kankei o tatsu), 縁を切る (えんをきる, en o kiru), 退路を断つ (たいろをたつ, tairo o tatsu), 背水の陣 (ja) (はいすいのじん, haisui no jin)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: bryte alle broer, bryte alle bruer

  Nynorsk: bryte alle bruer

• Polish: palić za sobą mosty (pl)
• Portuguese: queimar as pontes
• Russian: сжига́ть (за собо́й) все мосты́ impf (sžigátʹ (za sobój) vse mostý), рва́ть все свя́зи (rvátʹ vse svjázi)
• Spanish: quemar los puentes, quemar las naves
• Swedish: bränna sina broar, riva alla broar, bränna sina skepp (sv), bränna alla broar (sv)
• Uzbek: muloqotni buzmoq

See also

• burn one's boats
• point of no return