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.

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Example Sentences

"I'm devastated and what's done is done," she says.

From BBC • Nov. 14, 2023

But what’s done is done, and it’s time to move on.

From Washington Post • Mar. 20, 2023

“I already voted. I voted early. There’s nothing I can do to influence what’s gonna happen, what’s done is done, at least as far as my input in this goes,” she said.

From Slate • Nov. 2, 2020

“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