"we are where we are" meaning in English

See we are where we are in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Phrase

Head templates: {{head|en|phrase}} we are where we are
  1. (idiomatic) acknowledging the shortcomings of the present situation, while focusing on dealing with it rather than either dwelling on the causes or regretting what might have been Tags: idiomatic
    Sense id: en-we_are_where_we_are-en-phrase-TsCd1ZjU Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, English proverbs, English reduplications, English sentences, English tautophrases, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 83 17 Disambiguation of English proverbs: 77 23 Disambiguation of English reduplications: 84 16 Disambiguation of English sentences: 77 23 Disambiguation of English tautophrases: 84 16 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 83 17 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 84 16
  2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see we, are, where, we, are. Related terms: what's done is done, it is what it is, draw a line under, move on, deal with it
    Sense id: en-we_are_where_we_are-en-phrase-OXYfS~ea
{
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  "lang_code": "en",
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          "_dis": "83 17",
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      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2005 November 26, John E. Colbert, “Letter: The President We Have”, in The New York Times:",
          "text": "Similarly, it serves little purpose to lament the lack of a few more votes for Vice President Al Gore in 2000 or Senator John Kerry in 2004, or how those few more votes would have made the world a different place. We are where we are: We have President George W. Bush!",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2023 January 26, Eoin Ó Broin, “General Scheme of the Marine Protected Areas Bill 2023: Discussion”, in Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Dublin: Oireachtas:",
          "text": "The legislation is much delayed and many of us were of the view that it would have been better had this been introduced in parallel with the offshore planning regime, but we are where we are and we will work with the timelines in front of us.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2024 December 11, Baroness Merron, “Bread and Flour Regulations 1998 — Question”, in House of Lords debates, UK Parliament:",
          "text": "I do not want to look backwards, but I gently suggest that there are all sorts of reasons for delays. Still, we are where we are now, and what is important is moving ahead.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
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        "acknowledging the shortcomings of the present situation, while focusing on dealing with it rather than either dwelling on the causes or regretting what might have been"
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      "id": "en-we_are_where_we_are-en-phrase-TsCd1ZjU",
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        "(idiomatic) acknowledging the shortcomings of the present situation, while focusing on dealing with it rather than either dwelling on the causes or regretting what might have been"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    },
    {
      "glosses": [
        "Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see we, are, where, we, are."
      ],
      "id": "en-we_are_where_we_are-en-phrase-OXYfS~ea",
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        {
          "_dis1": "14 86",
          "word": "what's done is done"
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        {
          "_dis1": "14 86",
          "word": "it is what it is"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "14 86",
          "word": "draw a line under"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "14 86",
          "word": "move on"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "14 86",
          "word": "deal with it"
        }
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  "word": "we are where we are"
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  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "phrase",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "what's done is done"
    },
    {
      "word": "it is what it is"
    },
    {
      "word": "draw a line under"
    },
    {
      "word": "move on"
    },
    {
      "word": "deal with it"
    }
  ],
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        "English terms with quotations"
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      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2005 November 26, John E. Colbert, “Letter: The President We Have”, in The New York Times:",
          "text": "Similarly, it serves little purpose to lament the lack of a few more votes for Vice President Al Gore in 2000 or Senator John Kerry in 2004, or how those few more votes would have made the world a different place. We are where we are: We have President George W. Bush!",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2023 January 26, Eoin Ó Broin, “General Scheme of the Marine Protected Areas Bill 2023: Discussion”, in Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Dublin: Oireachtas:",
          "text": "The legislation is much delayed and many of us were of the view that it would have been better had this been introduced in parallel with the offshore planning regime, but we are where we are and we will work with the timelines in front of us.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2024 December 11, Baroness Merron, “Bread and Flour Regulations 1998 — Question”, in House of Lords debates, UK Parliament:",
          "text": "I do not want to look backwards, but I gently suggest that there are all sorts of reasons for delays. Still, we are where we are now, and what is important is moving ahead.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "acknowledging the shortcomings of the present situation, while focusing on dealing with it rather than either dwelling on the causes or regretting what might have been"
      ],
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        "(idiomatic) acknowledging the shortcomings of the present situation, while focusing on dealing with it rather than either dwelling on the causes or regretting what might have been"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    },
    {
      "glosses": [
        "Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see we, are, where, we, are."
      ],
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          "are",
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        ]
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    }
  ],
  "word": "we are where we are"
}

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This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-01-25 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2025-01-20 using wiktextract (c15a5ce and 5c11237). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

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