Word.ws English Dictionary

a stitch in time saves nine

a stitch in time saves nine proverb: a little effort expended sooner to fix a small problem prevents it from becoming a larger problem requiring more effort to fix later.

Proverb

a stitch in time saves nine

  1. A little effort expended sooner to fix a small problem prevents it from becoming a larger problem requiring more effort to fix later.

Origin of a stitch in time saves nine

From the practice of mending a small tear in cloth when first noticed ("in time"), before it becomes a larger one requiring more stitches.

Questions about a stitch in time saves nine

What does a stitch in time saves nine mean?
A stitch in time saves nine means a little effort expended sooner to fix a small problem prevents it from becoming a larger problem requiring more effort to fix later.
What part of speech is a stitch in time saves nine?
A stitch in time saves nine is a proverb.

Words near a stitch in time saves nine in the dictionary

  1. a spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down
  2. A star
  3. A stars
  4. a stick in a bundle cannot be broken
  5. a stick in a bundle is unbreakable
  6. a stitch in time saves nine
  7. a stopped clock is right twice a day
  8. A stories
  9. A story
  10. a straw shows how the wind blows
  11. a straw shows which way the wind blows

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: a stitch in time saves nine (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “a stitch in time saves nine.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/a_stitch_in_time_saves_nine. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.