Bite the bullet means to make yourself do something unpleasant or difficult that you have been avoiding. People say it about things they kept putting off because they were scary, awkward or expensive: a visit to the dentist, a difficult conversation, a big purchase. The idiom is informal: it sounds natural in IELTS Speaking, but in an IELTS essay write take a difficult but necessary step instead.
When would you say bite the bullet?
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bite the bullet + and + verb; finally bit the bullet (past: bit)
- I hated calling the bank, but I finally bit the bullet and asked about the fee.
- Our old car kept breaking down, so we bit the bullet and bought a new one.
- At some point you'll have to bite the bullet and tell your parents you're changing universities.
What changed
First versionI finally bit a bullet and told my boss I was leaving.
RevisionI finally bit the bullet and told my boss I was leaving.
The words in this idiom are fixed: it is always bite the bullet. With a, the phrase loses its figurative meaning and reads like a description of literally biting a bullet. The only change is a to the.
Grit your teeth is about putting up with something unpleasant that is already happening: I gritted my teeth and kept running. Bite the bullet is more often about finally deciding to deal with an unpleasant task you have been putting off.
Your turn
I'd been putting off the dentist for months, but last week I finally ___ and made an appointment.
Show the answer
bit the bullet — The speaker had been putting off the dentist for months and finally made the decision to book an appointment, so bit the bullet fits. Bit my tongue means I stopped myself from saying something I wanted to say, and it has nothing to do with making an appointment.
Think of an unpleasant task you kept putting off: a phone call, a conversation, a purchase or a visit to the doctor. Say how long you delayed it and what you finally did.
My heating was broken for six months before I bit the bullet and asked my landlord to fix it.
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