to think before you act
2
3.6
- idiom
:
piensa antes de actuar
- She always tries to think before she acts to consider the consequences.
Give yourself the gift of thinking before you act.
- Give yourself the gift of thinking before you act.
Examples
-
The scars of my insolence always remind me to think before I act.
Fiction book (2002) -
Teaching them to think before they act or get intimate.
Blog text (6) -
You need to control yourself and think before you act.
-
Is it so hard to take half an hour to think before you act?
Blog text (2) -
Think before you act next time.
Blog text (2) -
Hello, think before you act and don't be stupid; be responsible!
Blog text (16) -
People don't think before they act.
Blog text (13) -
You never know who's carrying, so therefore you might want to think before you act.
Blog text (9) -
That's what you get when you don't think before you act.
Fiction book (1999) -
Apparently, companies and executives still don't get what happens when you don't think before you act.
Blog text (26)
Synonyms
107
3.6
Carefully consider something before you act to avoid a mistake
105
3.2
To look at all the details and what may happen before you decide
39
8.1
To think about and plan something before doing it, often a harmful act
2
5.9
Think carefully about possible risks before you act
To stop and think before you say or do something that causes trouble
Antonyms
How Careful
8
3.8
43
4.4
2
3.6
- Informal
107
3.6
318
2.5
1
5.2
Surface Forms
Morphology
The instruction 'to consider the possible consequences before taking any action' is directly and compositionally built from 'think' (to deliberate) + 'before' (prior to) + 'act' (take action), so a B1 learner who knows these words can infer the meaning. The imperative structure is common and has clear cross-linguistic equivalents (e.g., Spanish 'piensa antes de actuar'), reinforcing its immediate transparency.
Etymology
Think before you act gives a clear picture: imagine someone about to move who stops to think so their act is safer. That's why it means 'to consider the possible consequences before taking any action'.