Word.ws English Dictionary

hope for the best, prepare for the worst

hope for the best, prepare for the worst proverb: while one should maintain a positive attitude when facing uncertain or challenging circumstances, one should not let this optimism blind them to the need to prepare for the possible hardships which may arise.

Proverb

hope for the best, prepare for the worst

  1. (imperative) While one should maintain a positive attitude when facing uncertain or challenging circumstances, one should not let this optimism blind them to the need to prepare for the possible hardships which may arise.

Verb

hope for the best, prepare for the worst (third-person singular simple present hopes for the best, prepares for the worst, present participle hoping for the best, preparing for the worst, simple past and past participle hoped for the best, prepared for the worst)

  1. To take precautions that may not be necessary in a future situation, while keeping hope that the situation will turn out well so that these precautions would not need to be used.

Forms of hope for the best, prepare for the worst

Proverb
alternative formhope for the best but prepare for the worst
alternative formhope for the best and prepare for the worst
Verb
third-person singular presenthopes for the best, prepares for the worst
present participlehoping for the best, preparing for the worst
past participlehoped for the best, prepared for the worst
pasthoped for the best, prepared for the worst

Questions about hope for the best, prepare for the worst

What does hope for the best, prepare for the worst mean?
Hope for the best, prepare for the worst means while one should maintain a positive attitude when facing uncertain or challenging circumstances, one should not let this optimism blind them to the need to prepare for the possible hardships which may arise.
What part of speech is hope for the best, prepare for the worst?
Hope for the best, prepare for the worst can be a proverb or a verb.

Words near hope for the best, prepare for the worst in the dictionary

  1. hope against hope
  2. Hope Cay
  3. hope chess
  4. hope chest
  5. hope chests
  6. hope for the best, prepare for the worst
  7. hope springs eternal
  8. hope springs eternal in the human breast
  9. Hope Town
  10. Hope under Dinmore
  11. Hope Valley

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: hope for the best, prepare for the worst (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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