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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.

“Agreed. Better safe than sorry. Look before you leap. A stitch in time, a bird in the hand, a sneeze in the wind, yes?”

From Literature

Look before you leap, however.

From The Wall Street Journal

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

From Seattle Times

Guess the cliche “Look before you leap” deserves a lifetime contract.

From Washington Post

This is why you look before you leap.

From Fox News

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.