# What does ‘the early bird catches the worm’ mean?

To “the early bird catches the worm” means to those who act promptly gain the advantage. Brewer's lists this as an old English proverb, recorded in print by the 17th century.

## What it means

- Brewer's lists this as an old English proverb, recorded in print by the 17th century.

## Action steps

1. Standard encouragement to start early on tasks or opportunities.
2. Example: The sale opens at six — the early bird catches the worm.

## Sources

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

---
Canonical: https://bestidiomanswers.com/answers/the-early-bird-catches-the-worm
Author: Best Idiom Answers — https://bestidiomanswers.com
Publisher: Best Idiom Answers
Published: 2026-07-18T04:16:34.24512+00:00
Modified: 2026-07-18T04:16:34.24512+00:00
Last verified: 2026-07-18
License: Citation License 1.0 — https://bestexpertanswers.com/license
© Adolicious LLC