Phrase guide

dodge a bullet

verb · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • General-American: /dɔd͡ʒ ə ˈbʊl.ɪt/
  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

verb

Meaning 1

To have a narrow escape; to avoid injury, disaster, or some other undesirable situation.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic, informal

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

10 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: escapar-se d'una bona — have a narrow escape
  • Chinese Mandarin: 逃過一劫 /逃过一劫 (táoguòyījié) — have a narrow escape
  • Finnish: selvitä säikähdyksellä — have a narrow escape
  • Finnish: väistää luoti — have a narrow escape
  • French: l’échapper belle — have a narrow escape
  • German: gerade nochmal davonkommen — have a narrow escape
  • Portuguese: sair de uma furada — have a narrow escape
  • Portuguese: escapar de uma fria — have a narrow escape
  • Spanish: librarse de una buena — have a narrow escape
  • Swedish: komma billigt undan — have a narrow escape