Rate this phrase:0.0 / 0 votes

bite the dust

die

Etymology:

  • This idiom has its origin belong to Trojan warriors, who died during the war. It was thought that lots of people were dying during that era and most of them fell on earth. When their faces hit the ground their faces were covered with dust, especially their lips. It was thought that they got in contact with dust and used to bite their teeth due to pain of death, during the final moments. This idiom was used by English people also in the 18th century and it is used to describe enemies or unwanted people dying.
23 Views

The poor fellow bit the dust, last night, due to injuries.

Submitted on February 25, 2019

Modified by TriplePurple on December 05, 2023

Additional definitions for 'bite the dust':

bite the dustTo quit, or fail or lose any chances of success
See them all »

Translation

Find a translation for the bite the dust phrase in other languages:

Select another language:

  • - Select -
  • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
  • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
  • Español (Spanish)
  • Esperanto (Esperanto)
  • 日本語 (Japanese)
  • Português (Portuguese)
  • Deutsch (German)
  • العربية (Arabic)
  • Français (French)
  • Русский (Russian)
  • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
  • 한국어 (Korean)
  • עברית (Hebrew)
  • Gaeilge (Irish)
  • Українська (Ukrainian)
  • اردو (Urdu)
  • Magyar (Hungarian)
  • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
  • Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Italiano (Italian)
  • தமிழ் (Tamil)
  • Türkçe (Turkish)
  • తెలుగు (Telugu)
  • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
  • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
  • Čeština (Czech)
  • Polski (Polish)
  • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Românește (Romanian)
  • Nederlands (Dutch)
  • Ελληνικά (Greek)
  • Latinum (Latin)
  • Svenska (Swedish)
  • Dansk (Danish)
  • Suomi (Finnish)
  • فارسی (Persian)
  • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
  • հայերեն (Armenian)
  • Norsk (Norwegian)
  • English (English)

Nearby phrases

Some more phrases from our dictionary similar to bite the dust

How to pronounce this phrase?

Discuss this bite the dust phrase with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this bite the dust definition to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "bite the dust." Phrases.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 21 Nov. 2024. <https://www.phrases.com/phrase/bite-the-dust_44495>.

    We need you!

    Help us build the largest human-edited phrases collection on the web!

    Quiz

    Are you a phrases master?

    »
    He fought tooth and __________ to get that job.
    A hair
    B fist
    C nail
    D gum