close the stable door after the horse has bolted
To attempt to prevent a problem that has already occurredTo attempt to prevent a problem that has already occurred; to design and implement a preventive mechanism that is too late (after the first failure instead of before).
Meaning
1 senses(idiomatic)To attempt to prevent a problem that has already occurred; to design and implement a preventive mechanism that is too late (after the first failure instead of before).
den Brunnen zudecken, wenn das Kind hineingefallen ist
по́здно пить боржо́ми, когда́ по́чки отказа́лиpózdno pitʹ boržómi, kogdá póčki otkazáli
Translations
7 languagesBy meaning 1
By meaning 1
Forms
closes the stable door after the horse has bolted, closing the stable door after the horse has bolted, closed the stable door after the horse had bolted, closed the stable door after the horse had bolted| Base form | close the stable door after the horse has bolted · to close the stable door after the horse has bolted |
|---|---|
| 3rd person singular | closes the stable door after the horse has bolted |
| Present participle | closing the stable door after the horse has bolted |
| Past simple | closed the stable door after the horse had bolted |
| Past participle | closed the stable door after the horse had bolted |
irregular
Present simpleLesson
| I, you, we, they | close the stable door after the horse has bolted |
| he, she, it | closes the stable door after the horse has bolted |
Past simpleLesson
| all persons | closed the stable door after the horse had bolted |
Present perfectLesson
| I, you, we, they | have closed the stable door after the horse had bolted |
| he, she, it | has closed the stable door after the horse had bolted |
Future simple (will)Lesson
| all persons | will close the stable door after the horse has bolted |
Synonyms
5 synonymsWord family
2 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.