come back to bite

English

Alternative forms

• come back to haunt

Verb

come back to bite (third-person singular simple present comes back to bite, present participle coming back to bite, simple past came back to bite, past participle come back to bite)

1. (transitive, figuratively) To cause problems for one at a later time. Said especially of situations that illustrate the irony of human folly because the damage caused by aggression or negligence ultimately also harms the instigator's own interests.

   Synonyms: bite in the arse, bite in the ass, come back to bite in the ass

See also

• come home to roost
• come back to haunt
• what goes around comes around

Further reading

• “come back to bite sb”, in Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, 1999–present.
• “come back to bite one”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.