Advertisement

Advertisement

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure

  1. A little precaution before a crisis occurs is preferable to a lot of fixing up afterward. ( See also A stitch in time saves nine .)


Discover More

Idioms and Phrases

It is easier to forestall a disaster than to deal with it. For example, The new law makes all children under twelve wear bicycle helmets—an ounce of prevention . This ancient proverb is first recorded in Latin in Henry de Bracton's De Legibus (c. 1240) and has been repeated ever since, often in shortened form.

Advertisement

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement


an ounce of preventionANOVA