Phrase guide

go the way of the dodo

verb · 2 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

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  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈɡəʊ ðə ˌweɪ ə(v)ðə ˈdəʊdəʊ/
  • General-American: /ˈɡoʊ ðə ˌweɪ ə(v)ðə ˈdoʊˌdoʊ/
  • General-American: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -əʊdəʊ

1

verb

Meaning 1

To go extinct or become obsolete or defunct; to fall out of common practice or use; to become a thing of the past.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic

Examples

  • Now that word-processing has caught on, typewriters have gone the way of the dodo.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: go the way of the dinosaurs, go the way of the dodo bird, assume room temperature, auger in, be called home, be gathered to one's fathers, be like the the One, be no more, be with Jesus, be with the Lord, bite the big one, bite the biscuit, bite the dust, buy the farm, buy it, cark it, cash in, cash in one's chips, check out, close one's eyes for the last time, code, conk out, croak, cross over, cross the Great Divide, cross the Styx, darken, decease, decompose, dematerialize, depart, disincarnate, draw one's last breath, drop off the hooks, exit, expire, fall off the twig, flatline, forfare, give one's all, give up the ghost, go for a burton, go out, go over to the majority, go the way of all flesh, go the way of the dodo, go to glory, go to one's reward, go west, hand in one's checks, hand in one's dinner pail, hop the twig, join the choir invisible, keel over, kick the bucket, kick off, knock off, liquidate, lose the number of one's mess, meet one's doom, meet one's end, meet one's maker, pass, pass away, pass in one's checks, pass in one's marble, pass on, pass over, pass the river, pay nature's debt, pay the debt of nature, peg out, perish, pop off, pop one's clogs, push up daisies, shuffle off this mortal coil, sink, sleep with one's fathers, slip away, snuff it, succumb, take a dirt nap, turn up one's toes, yield up the ghost

Antonyms: none provided

2

verb

Meaning 2

Alternative letter-case form of go the way of the dodo.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: alt-of

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

The dodo (Raphus cucullatus) was a flightless bird endemic to the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius, which is believed to have become extinct in the 17th century due to human activity.

Across languages

Translations

4 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • German: but see aussterben — to go extinct or become obsolete; to fall out of common practice or use
  • Polish: wychodzić z mody — to go extinct or become obsolete; to fall out of common practice or use
  • Polish: wyjść z mody — to go extinct or become obsolete; to fall out of common practice or use
  • Romanian: but see dispărea — to go extinct or become obsolete; to fall out of common practice or use