a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
Something already possessed is more valuable than something potential
Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt
Điều đã có trong tay thường có giá trị hơn điều chỉ có tiềm năng
Machine-translated — suggest a fix
Literally: a caught bird versus two free birds
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Sources & notes
Listed on Wikipedia “List of proverbial phrases” (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-30; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush” mean?
Something already possessed is more valuable than something potential Literally: a caught bird versus two free birds
Is “a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.