What Does "Dodge a Bullet" Mean?

What does it mean to “dodge a bullet”?

To “dodge a bullet” means to avoid an undesirable event. This is an informal idiom that you might use after you’ve narrowly avoided an injury or accident to express relief. It’s a positive thing if someone says you’ve “dodged a bullet”! This expression was first used literally in the early 20th century to describe someone who had avoided being shot in combat. The phrase took on a non-literal meaning in the second half of the 20th century.

Ways to Use “Dodge a Bullet”

Use “dodge a bullet” after you’ve avoided an unwanted event. If you’ve snuck out of the house and came back just in time so your mom wouldn’t know, you could say you “dodged a bullet”. The unwanted event you escaped was your mom finding out and being upset with you.

Use “dodge a bullet” after you’ve avoided an injury or accident. Say while doing a new skateboard trick, you fall on your arm and have to be taken to the hospital. The doctor might tell you you’ve “dodged a bullet” if the x-ray shows you didn’t break your arm.

Use “dodge a bullet” after avoiding a bad romantic situation. If the new person you’ve been seeing recently suddenly breaks up with you, but your friend later tells you they’re a serial cheater, you might say you “dodged a bullet”. The unwelcome situation you avoided is continuing a relationship with a cheater.

Related Phrases

A “close call” is also a lucky avoidance of an undesirable event. If something is a “close call” it means the unwelcome situation almost happened, but didn’t. The expressions “close call” and “dodge a bullet” will often be used interchangeably, or together because they mean the same thing. If your friend says you’ve “dodged a bullet,” you might reply “Oh yeah, that was a close call.” Your friend: “On the way to work, a car ran a red light and almost hit me! They braked just in time.” You: “Oh my gosh, what a close call!”

A “narrow escape” also means to have averted danger. To “narrowly escape” is to have barely avoided a dangerous situation. This expression is very similar to “close call” and is another phrase you might hear said with, or in place of, “dodge a bullet”. You: “I almost tripped down the stairs, but I caught myself on the railing.” Your friend: “You narrowly escaped falling down a whole flight of stairs then!”