Better safe than sorry

Cultural  

1. It is better to act cautiously beforehand than to suffer afterward.

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better safe than sorry Idioms  

1. Being careful may avoid disaster, as in I'm not taking any short-cuts—better safe than sorry. This cautionary phrase appeared as better sure than sorry in 1837.

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Example Sentences

I report on these issues, and I can see how even I might question whether to take Tylenol during a pregnancy—not because I think the president is correct, but because “Better safe than sorry” dictates so many of the choices pregnant women make, and what if?

From Slate

All the same, better safe than sorry.

From Seattle Times

“So much of pregnancy advice is based on fear and a ‘better safe than sorry’ sort of framework.”

From Science Magazine

Many people take a bit of this, and a bit of that, so better safe than sorry.

From Washington Times

With so many lives lost there, he said, officials may have felt they were “better safe than sorry.”

From Los Angeles Times