An Ounce of Prevention Is Worth a Pound of Cure: Meaning, History, and More

Co-authored by Dan Hickey

Last Updated: April 25, 2022

“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” is a common piece of advice, but what does it really mean you should do? It’s actually a really helpful phrase with an interesting history that’s easy to add to your conversations. That’s why we’ve put together a complete guide to this phrase so you know exactly what it means and how to use it.

Section 1 of 3:

What does “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” mean?

“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” highlights the wisdom of planning ahead to avoid problems. An “ounce” weighs less than a “pound,” so the phrase means it’s easier to do little things to prevent something bad happening than it is to try and fix the damage later. It encourages people to take action now instead of reacting to trouble.^{[1]
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Research source} You might see it in a conversation like this:
- Person 1: “Why are you flood proofing the basement? It’s never flooded before.”
  Person 2: “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!”
- Person 1: “You better get a case for that new phone. The screen cracks easily.”
  Person 2: “You’re right. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, I guess.”

Section 2 of 3:

How do I use “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”?

1
Encourage someone to take care of themselves or their belongings. Say you have a friend who has a sniffle, or your brother’s car is making a weird noise. You could tell them “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” as a reminder that maintaining their health or taking their car to the shop is a lot more convenient than getting the flu or breaking down on the side of the road later.^{[2]
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Research source} You might use it when you:
- Explain why you’re taking precautions against something.
- Tell someone to put on protection like bug spray or sunblock.
- Encourage someone to smooth over disagreements before they become arguments.
- Suggest taking safety measures to prevent the spread of germs.
2
Just say “an ounce of prevention” to imply the whole phrase. Since the full saying is a common phrase, some people will just say the first half and expect the listener to fill in the second half (this happens a lot with English idioms).^{[3]
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Research source} You might hear it like this:
- Person 1: “You should get that tooth looked at. An ounce of prevention!”
- Person 2: “Yeah, yeah, I know. I’ll make a dentist appointment.”

Section 3 of 3:

Where does “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” come from?

US Founding Father Benjamin Franklin popularized this phrase in the 1730s. After a visit to Boston, he was impressed by the city’s fire prevention methods and wanted the city of Philadelphia to copy them. He sent an anonymous letter to The Pennsylvania Gazette to criticize their fire safety system and used “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” in the very first sentence.^{[4]
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Research source}
- Franklin was not the first person to use this phrase, but he often gets credit for it since his anonymous letter was widely circulated.
- Sayings similar to this were around as far back as the 13th century. Henry de Bracton’s work De legibus et consuetudinibus Angliae (“On the laws and customs of England”) used something like this phrase in 1235 (although it was in Latin, not English).^{[5]
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