close the stable door after the horse has bolted

== English == === Pronunciation === === Verb === close the stable door after the horse has bolted (third-person singular simple present closes the stable door after the horse has bolted, present participle closing the stable door after the horse has bolted, simple past and past participle closed the stable door after the horse had bolted) (idiomatic) To attempt to prevent a problem that has already occurred; to design and implement a preventive mechanism that is too late (after the first failure instead of before). ==== Synonyms ==== ==== Related terms ==== barn door, horsebarn ==== Translations ==== ==== See also ==== === Further reading === “close the stable door after the horse has bolted”, in Collins English Dictionary, 2011–present. Gary Martin (1997–), “Close the stable door after the horse has bolted”, in The Phrase Finder.