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THE IDIOM COLLECTION LEARN & PRACTISE

Bite the dust

Understand the meaning. See it in context. Make it yours.

01 / UNDERSTAND

Meaning in plain English

To fail, come to an end or stop working.

02 / SEE IT IN CONTEXT

The expression in a sentence

  1. Our old printer finally bit the dust during the busiest week.

03 / CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING

Quick idiom quiz

Try the question without looking back, then write a sentence of your own. You can retry as often as you like.

Can you recall the expression?

Which expression from this lesson matches this meaning?

To fail, come to an end or stop working.
Show the answer

Bite the dust — To fail, come to an end or stop working.

Try your own sentence (optional)

Make it yours

Write one sentence using “Bite the dust” about your own life.

Check your sentence

Does your sentence match this meaning?

To fail, come to an end or stop working.

Compare: Our old printer finally bit the dust during the busiest week.

Check the spelling and how the expression fits the sentence. Your example can be different.

Self-review only. Your sentence is not automatically marked, saved or submitted.

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GO DEEPER

More ways to understand and use it

When to use it

Use it informally, often humorously, for a failed plan or broken piece of equipment. This lesson focuses on that everyday use.

More examples in context

  • The plan to hold the show outdoors bit the dust when the venue became unavailable.
  • My battered headphones have bitten the dust at last.

Usage note

Use bit in the past and bitten after have. The phrase can also mean die or fall heavily, so it may be insensitive when talking about a real person’s death.

A short conversation

A: Why are you printing at the library?
B: My printer bit the dust yesterday.
A: I hope you can get the documents finished there.

One more practice question

What does “The old printer bit the dust” mean?

A. The printer stopped working.
B. The printer began working better than ever.

Check your answer

A. In this context, the idiom describes equipment failure.

Related lessons

Meaning and usage checked against Cambridge Dictionary. Explanations, examples and conversation are original.

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