Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

cross the rubicon

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.71 in modern English

Syllables: cross the ru-bi-con
IPA

24

Scrabble Score

15

Letters

3

Syllables

11

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To make an irreversible decision or to take an action with consequences.

Example Sentences

"He knew that by coming out to his family he would be crossing the Rubicon, but he could not live a lie anymore."
"Britain will cross a “legal and ethical Rubicon” if parliament votes to permit terminally ill patients to end their lives, said the archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, as leaders of all the UK’s major faith groups call on MPs to reject plans to allow assisted suicide."
"Having crossed the Rubicon, we can't go back. The impact of this transition is underlined by the fact that, despite our long evolutionary history as foragers, we generally can't survive by hunting and gathering when we have been stripped of that relevant culturally acquired know-how."
"Will China cross the Rubicon by sending its military to Hong Kong?[…] As the world contemplates whether Beijing will cross the Rubicon and use military force to quell protests in Hong Kong, one question naturally comes to mind: Would the existing garrison be used, or would tanks and soldiers, recently seen moving toward the border in nearby Shenzhen, come across from the mainland? Would they conceivably act as a combined force?"
"With the invasion of Ukraine the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has thrown himself into the unthinkable. He has crossed the Rubicon into a time of war. He has no way back."
"When the inevitable moment arrives to cross the romantic Rubicon in “Ticket to Paradise,” the machinery of the screenplay and the far-fetched nature of the moment don’t matter — they can just look at each other and sell it."

Etymology

Refers to Julius Caesar's crossing of the Rubicon to wage civil war with Rome, on January 10, 49 BCE, in violation of law. Suetonius' use of the phrase the die is cast in describing this act popularized the use of that phrase, which was first attributed to the Greek dramatist Menander.

Inflected Forms

crosses the Rubicon (present, singular) crossing the Rubicon (participle, present) crossed the Rubicon (participle, past) crossed the Rubicon (past)

Derived Forms

rubicon

Phrases

burn one's boats burn one's bridges cross the line point of no return the die is cast unmask one's batteries

Frequently Paired Words

burn one's boats burn one's bridges cross the line point of no return the die is cast unmask one's batteries

Questions

What does cross the rubicon mean?: To make an irreversible decision or to take an action with consequences.
Where does cross the rubicon come from?: Refers to Julius Caesar's crossing of the Rubicon to wage civil war with Rome, on January 10, 49 BCE, in violation of law. Suetonius' use of the phrase the die is cast in describing this act popularized the use of that phrase, which was first attributed to the Greek dramatist Menander.

How to pronounce cross the rubicon

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