Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Jump to:
  • Look before you leap
    Look before you leap
    We should know what we are getting into before we commit ourselves.
  • look before you leap
    look before you leap
    Think of the consequences before you act, as in You'd better check out all the costs before you buy a cellular phone—look before you leap. This expression alludes to Aesop's fable about the fox who is unable to climb out of a well and persuades a goat to jump in. The fox then climbs on the goat's horns to get out, while the goat remains trapped. [c. 1350]

Look before you leap

Cultural  
  1. We should know what we are getting into before we commit ourselves.


look before you leap Idioms  
  1. Think of the consequences before you act, as in You'd better check out all the costs before you buy a cellular phone—look before you leap. This expression alludes to Aesop's fable about the fox who is unable to climb out of a well and persuades a goat to jump in. The fox then climbs on the goat's horns to get out, while the goat remains trapped. [c. 1350]


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

However, you’ll need to look before you leap when buying raw land or a developed vacant building lot.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 30, 2021

The lesson: look before you leap after the headlines.

From Time Magazine Archive

You are warned, "look before you leap", 'Cause this leap should not be last lap.

From Truth and the Myth : Couplets quips by Narayanan, A. R.

It is well to look before you leap.

From Talkers With Illustrations by Bate, John

In old days, before wire was known, this used to be the best grass country in the V.W.H., but nowadays you must "look before you leap."

From A Cotswold Village by Gibbs, J. Arthur

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Look it up. Learn it forever.

Remember "Look before you leap" for good with VocabTrainer. Expand your vocabulary effortlessly with personalized learning tools that adapt to your goals.

Take me to Vocabulary.com