the early bird catches the worm
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
Those who act early have an advantage over others.
Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt
Những người hành động sớm có ưu thế hơn người khác
Machine-translated — suggest a fix
Literally: A bird that wakes up early catches a worm.
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 “the early bird catches the worm” mean?
Those who act early have an advantage over others. Literally: A bird that wakes up early catches a worm.
Is “the early bird catches the worm” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.