bite the bullet
verbEtymology Possibly from the reported practice of soldiers biting a bullet to avoid crying out in pain, usually during a medical procedure or punishment. See the Wikipedia article Bite the bullet for a further discussion of possible etymologies.
1
Idiomatic To accept a negative aspect of a situation in order to proceed.
- The tenant was annoyed by the proposed rent increase, but the cost of moving would be even higher, so he bit the bullet and signed the new lease.
2
Human sciences, Philosophy, Sciences To accept an undesirable or counterintuitive implication of an argument or view.
- With respect to the status of infants and those suffering from dementia, the critic might bite the bullet and just accept the fact that human dignity does not extend to them, or else argue that the fact that infants and those suffering mental breakdown are part of a species whose members typically possess rationality merits them a special respect, even if they lack this quality as individuals.2014 June 12, C. Stephen Evans, David Baggett, “Moral Arguments for the Existence of God”, in Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, archived from the original on 20 Apr 2026:
- Related terms
- bit between one's teeth, grit one's teeth, suck it up, take it like a man, take one's medicine