do not shut the stable door after the horse has bolted
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Also seen as: do not lock the stable door after the horse has bolted
Meaning · English
Do not take action after the problem has occurred
Literally: locking a stable door after a horse has escaped
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Sources & notes
Listed on Wikipedia “List of proverbial phrases” (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-30; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “do not shut the stable door after the horse has bolted” mean?
Do not take action after the problem has occurred Literally: locking a stable door after a horse has escaped
Is “do not shut the stable door after the horse has bolted” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.