MEANING
To take a decisive step that cannot readily be reversed and strongly shapes what happens next.
Use it for
describing an irreversible commitment; showing a decision that ends the option of returning; marking a decisive turning point; distinguishing ordinary experimentation from consequential commitmentNames an action that commits someone to a consequential course that cannot readily be reversed. Writing functions: Irreversible commitment.
Words that belong together
- cross the Rubicon by doing something
- have crossed the Rubicon
On the page
By publicly rejecting the settlement, the union crossed the Rubicon.
She knew she had crossed the Rubicon when she sent the evidence to the regulator.
Word forms
- Base
- cross the Rubicon
Usage notes
Verbal idiom: cross/crosses/crossed/crossing the Rubicon. Retain the capital R in the established English expression. Register: neutral. Commonness: common (qualitative editorial estimate, informed by dictionaries/corpus).
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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