# What does ‘many hands make light work’ mean?

To “many hands make light work” means to large groups can finish tasks quickly. Brewer's records this as a classic English proverb, in print by the 14th century.

## What it means

- Brewer's records this as a classic English proverb, in print by the 14th century.

## Action steps

1. Common encouragement to teamwork.
2. Example: Grab a broom — many hands make light work.

## Sources

- [Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898) — Internet Archive scan](https://archive.org/details/brewers-dictionary-of-phrase-and-fable)

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