"measure twice and cut once" meaning in English

See measure twice and cut once in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Proverb

Head templates: {{head|en|proverb|head=}} measure twice and cut once, {{en-proverb}} measure twice and cut once
  1. (carpentry, literally) One should double-check one's measurements for accuracy before cutting a piece of wood; otherwise it may be necessary to cut again, wasting time and material. Tags: literally Categories (topical): Carpentry Synonyms: measure twice, cut once, check twice and do once
    Sense id: en-measure_twice_and_cut_once-en-proverb-lnWSmSSt Categories (other): English aphorisms, English coordinated pairs, English entries with language name categories using raw markup, English proverbs, English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys Disambiguation of English aphorisms: 64 36 Disambiguation of English coordinated pairs: 83 17 Disambiguation of English entries with language name categories using raw markup: 93 7 Disambiguation of English proverbs: 80 20 Disambiguation of English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys: 85 15 Topics: business, carpentry, construction, manufacturing
  2. (figuratively, by extension) Plan and prepare in a careful, thorough manner before taking action. Tags: broadly, figuratively Translations (plan and prepare in a careful, thorough manner before taking action. and act once precisely and properly.): dvakrát měř, jednou řež (Czech), üheksa korda mõõda, üks kord lõika (Estonian), hyvin suunniteltu on puoliksi tehty (Finnish), hyvin suunniteltu on puoleksi tehty (Finnish), mesurer deux fois, couper une fois (French), zweimal messen, einmal schneiden (German), жеті рет өлшеп, бір рет кес (jetı ret ölşep, bır ret kes) (Kazakh), 두번 재고, 한번에 잘라라. (dubeon jaego, hanbeone jallara.) (Korean), devynis kartus pamatuok – dešimtą kirpk (Lithuanian), долоо хэмжиж нэг огтол (doloo xemžiž neg ogtol) (Mongolian), de șapte ori măsoară, o dată taie (Romanian), măsoară de zece ori și taie o dată (Romanian), mide dos veces y corta una sola vez (Spanish), måtta två gånger, hugg en (Swedish), iki ölç, bir biç (Turkish)
    Sense id: en-measure_twice_and_cut_once-en-proverb-dkVfbKvf Disambiguation of 'plan and prepare in a careful, thorough manner before taking action. and act once precisely and properly.': 13 87

Alternative forms

Download JSON data for measure twice and cut once meaning in English (6.8kB)

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  "head_templates": [
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      "expansion": "measure twice and cut once",
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    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "measure twice and cut once",
      "name": "en-proverb"
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  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "proverb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Carpentry",
          "orig": "en:Carpentry",
          "parents": [
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            "Woodworking",
            "Architecture",
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        {
          "ref": "1872, “Dressmaking”, in Hall's Journal of Health, volume 19, number 12, page 280",
          "text": "Look at Carpenters! . . . In old times it was a proverb \"Measure twice, and cut once.\"",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "One should double-check one's measurements for accuracy before cutting a piece of wood; otherwise it may be necessary to cut again, wasting time and material."
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      "id": "en-measure_twice_and_cut_once-en-proverb-lnWSmSSt",
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      "raw_glosses": [
        "(carpentry, literally) One should double-check one's measurements for accuracy before cutting a piece of wood; otherwise it may be necessary to cut again, wasting time and material."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "_dis1": "85 15",
          "word": "measure twice, cut once"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "85 15",
          "word": "check twice and do once"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
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      "topics": [
        "business",
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    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2008 November 9, Hilary Johnson, “Mergers rattle bank relations”, in Financial Week, retrieved 2008-11-09",
          "text": "Mr. Paz noted that since the onset of the credit crisis, eBay, like other companies, hasn’t been able to \"measure twice and cut once.\"",
          "type": "quotation"
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      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Plan and prepare in a careful, thorough manner before taking action."
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      "id": "en-measure_twice_and_cut_once-en-proverb-dkVfbKvf",
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      "raw_glosses": [
        "(figuratively, by extension) Plan and prepare in a careful, thorough manner before taking action."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "broadly",
        "figuratively"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "13 87",
          "code": "cs",
          "lang": "Czech",
          "sense": "plan and prepare in a careful, thorough manner before taking action. and act once precisely and properly.",
          "word": "dvakrát měř, jednou řež"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "13 87",
          "code": "et",
          "lang": "Estonian",
          "sense": "plan and prepare in a careful, thorough manner before taking action. and act once precisely and properly.",
          "word": "üheksa korda mõõda, üks kord lõika"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "13 87",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "plan and prepare in a careful, thorough manner before taking action. and act once precisely and properly.",
          "word": "hyvin suunniteltu on puoliksi tehty"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "13 87",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "plan and prepare in a careful, thorough manner before taking action. and act once precisely and properly.",
          "word": "hyvin suunniteltu on puoleksi tehty"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "13 87",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "plan and prepare in a careful, thorough manner before taking action. and act once precisely and properly.",
          "word": "mesurer deux fois, couper une fois"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "13 87",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "plan and prepare in a careful, thorough manner before taking action. and act once precisely and properly.",
          "word": "zweimal messen, einmal schneiden"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "13 87",
          "code": "kk",
          "lang": "Kazakh",
          "roman": "jetı ret ölşep, bır ret kes",
          "sense": "plan and prepare in a careful, thorough manner before taking action. and act once precisely and properly.",
          "word": "жеті рет өлшеп, бір рет кес"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "13 87",
          "code": "ko",
          "lang": "Korean",
          "roman": "dubeon jaego, hanbeone jallara.",
          "sense": "plan and prepare in a careful, thorough manner before taking action. and act once precisely and properly.",
          "word": "두번 재고, 한번에 잘라라."
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "13 87",
          "code": "lt",
          "lang": "Lithuanian",
          "sense": "plan and prepare in a careful, thorough manner before taking action. and act once precisely and properly.",
          "word": "devynis kartus pamatuok – dešimtą kirpk"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "13 87",
          "code": "mn",
          "lang": "Mongolian",
          "roman": "doloo xemžiž neg ogtol",
          "sense": "plan and prepare in a careful, thorough manner before taking action. and act once precisely and properly.",
          "word": "долоо хэмжиж нэг огтол"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "13 87",
          "code": "ro",
          "lang": "Romanian",
          "sense": "plan and prepare in a careful, thorough manner before taking action. and act once precisely and properly.",
          "word": "de șapte ori măsoară, o dată taie"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "13 87",
          "code": "ro",
          "lang": "Romanian",
          "sense": "plan and prepare in a careful, thorough manner before taking action. and act once precisely and properly.",
          "word": "măsoară de zece ori și taie o dată"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "13 87",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "note": "семь раз отме́рь, оди́н отре́жь (semʹ raz otmérʹ, odín otréžʹ, literally “measure seven times, cut once”)",
          "sense": "plan and prepare in a careful, thorough manner before taking action. and act once precisely and properly."
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "13 87",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "plan and prepare in a careful, thorough manner before taking action. and act once precisely and properly.",
          "word": "mide dos veces y corta una sola vez"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "13 87",
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "plan and prepare in a careful, thorough manner before taking action. and act once precisely and properly.",
          "word": "måtta två gånger, hugg en"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "13 87",
          "code": "tr",
          "lang": "Turkish",
          "sense": "plan and prepare in a careful, thorough manner before taking action. and act once precisely and properly.",
          "word": "iki ölç, bir biç"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "measure twice and cut once"
}
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    "English coordinated pairs",
    "English entries with language name categories using raw markup",
    "English lemmas",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English proverbs",
    "English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys"
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  "head_templates": [
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        "head": ""
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      "expansion": "measure twice and cut once",
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      "expansion": "measure twice and cut once",
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  "pos": "proverb",
  "senses": [
    {
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        "en:Carpentry"
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      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1872, “Dressmaking”, in Hall's Journal of Health, volume 19, number 12, page 280",
          "text": "Look at Carpenters! . . . In old times it was a proverb \"Measure twice, and cut once.\"",
          "type": "quotation"
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        "One should double-check one's measurements for accuracy before cutting a piece of wood; otherwise it may be necessary to cut again, wasting time and material."
      ],
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        "(carpentry, literally) One should double-check one's measurements for accuracy before cutting a piece of wood; otherwise it may be necessary to cut again, wasting time and material."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "literally"
      ],
      "topics": [
        "business",
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        "construction",
        "manufacturing"
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      "categories": [
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          "ref": "2008 November 9, Hilary Johnson, “Mergers rattle bank relations”, in Financial Week, retrieved 2008-11-09",
          "text": "Mr. Paz noted that since the onset of the credit crisis, eBay, like other companies, hasn’t been able to \"measure twice and cut once.\"",
          "type": "quotation"
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      "glosses": [
        "Plan and prepare in a careful, thorough manner before taking action."
      ],
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        "(figuratively, by extension) Plan and prepare in a careful, thorough manner before taking action."
      ],
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  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "measure twice, cut once"
    },
    {
      "word": "check twice and do once"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "cs",
      "lang": "Czech",
      "sense": "plan and prepare in a careful, thorough manner before taking action. and act once precisely and properly.",
      "word": "dvakrát měř, jednou řež"
    },
    {
      "code": "et",
      "lang": "Estonian",
      "sense": "plan and prepare in a careful, thorough manner before taking action. and act once precisely and properly.",
      "word": "üheksa korda mõõda, üks kord lõika"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "plan and prepare in a careful, thorough manner before taking action. and act once precisely and properly.",
      "word": "hyvin suunniteltu on puoliksi tehty"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "plan and prepare in a careful, thorough manner before taking action. and act once precisely and properly.",
      "word": "hyvin suunniteltu on puoleksi tehty"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "plan and prepare in a careful, thorough manner before taking action. and act once precisely and properly.",
      "word": "mesurer deux fois, couper une fois"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "plan and prepare in a careful, thorough manner before taking action. and act once precisely and properly.",
      "word": "zweimal messen, einmal schneiden"
    },
    {
      "code": "kk",
      "lang": "Kazakh",
      "roman": "jetı ret ölşep, bır ret kes",
      "sense": "plan and prepare in a careful, thorough manner before taking action. and act once precisely and properly.",
      "word": "жеті рет өлшеп, бір рет кес"
    },
    {
      "code": "ko",
      "lang": "Korean",
      "roman": "dubeon jaego, hanbeone jallara.",
      "sense": "plan and prepare in a careful, thorough manner before taking action. and act once precisely and properly.",
      "word": "두번 재고, 한번에 잘라라."
    },
    {
      "code": "lt",
      "lang": "Lithuanian",
      "sense": "plan and prepare in a careful, thorough manner before taking action. and act once precisely and properly.",
      "word": "devynis kartus pamatuok – dešimtą kirpk"
    },
    {
      "code": "mn",
      "lang": "Mongolian",
      "roman": "doloo xemžiž neg ogtol",
      "sense": "plan and prepare in a careful, thorough manner before taking action. and act once precisely and properly.",
      "word": "долоо хэмжиж нэг огтол"
    },
    {
      "code": "ro",
      "lang": "Romanian",
      "sense": "plan and prepare in a careful, thorough manner before taking action. and act once precisely and properly.",
      "word": "de șapte ori măsoară, o dată taie"
    },
    {
      "code": "ro",
      "lang": "Romanian",
      "sense": "plan and prepare in a careful, thorough manner before taking action. and act once precisely and properly.",
      "word": "măsoară de zece ori și taie o dată"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "note": "семь раз отме́рь, оди́н отре́жь (semʹ raz otmérʹ, odín otréžʹ, literally “measure seven times, cut once”)",
      "sense": "plan and prepare in a careful, thorough manner before taking action. and act once precisely and properly."
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "plan and prepare in a careful, thorough manner before taking action. and act once precisely and properly.",
      "word": "mide dos veces y corta una sola vez"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "plan and prepare in a careful, thorough manner before taking action. and act once precisely and properly.",
      "word": "måtta två gånger, hugg en"
    },
    {
      "code": "tr",
      "lang": "Turkish",
      "sense": "plan and prepare in a careful, thorough manner before taking action. and act once precisely and properly.",
      "word": "iki ölç, bir biç"
    }
  ],
  "word": "measure twice and cut once"
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-04-17 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-04-01 using wiktextract (0b52755 and 5cb0836). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

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