what's done is done

Idioms  

1. There is no changing something; it's finished or final. For example, I forgot to include my dividend income in my tax return but what's done is done—I've already mailed the form. This expression uses done in the sense of “ended” or “settled,” a usage dating from the first half of the 1400s.

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

what's done is done

"It's pointless me whinging about the red card, what's done is done."

From BBC ● Feb. 13, 2021

I know I should have prepared her better, but what's done is done and we need to move forward.

From Washington Post ● Feb. 7, 2021

My husband feels that what’s done is done, but I can’t move past my anger and the disappointment I feel for my godson.

From Slate ● Jun. 25, 2018

“I was trying to get him to look forward because if you don’t like the result of a shot, what’s done is done, there’s nothing you can do about it,” Shawn Spieth said.

From New York Times ● Jun. 17, 2015

“Well, you shan’t blame me for what’s happened. I warned you. However, what’s done is done and there’s no sense complaining. No use in it at all.”

From "The Black Cauldron" by Lloyd Alexander