Meaning
Success and opportunity come to those who start acting before others, rather than waiting or delaying.
It’s most often used as encouragement to get an early start — literally or figuratively — implying that early effort is rewarded while hesitation risks missing out.
Origin
The proverb is first recorded in John Ray’s 1670 collection “A Collection of English Proverbs” as “The early bird catcheth the worm,” making it one of the relatively well-dated English proverbs, though the underlying observation — that birds foraging earliest in the morning have first pick of the worms surfacing at dawn — is presumably far older folk wisdom that simply happened to be fixed in print by Ray. The proverb has since spawned a well-known ironic rejoinder, “the second mouse gets the cheese” (pointing out that the first one often gets caught in the trap), a modern addition that pushes back against the proverb’s implied blanket endorsement of haste.
Examples
She always arrives an hour before opening — the early bird catches the worm, after all.
We left home at dawn to beat the traffic; the early bird catches the worm.
If you want the best seats, get there early — the early bird catches the worm.
A: Why are you up so early? B: The early bird catches the worm — I want first pick of the market stalls.
Frequently asked questions
What does 'The early bird catches the worm' mean?
Success and opportunity come to those who start acting before others, rather than waiting or delaying.
It’s most often used as encouragement to get an early start — literally or figuratively — implying that early effort is rewarded while hesitation risks missing out.