# pride comes before a fall

idiom · CEFR C1

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/pride-comes-before-a-fall
Updated: 2026-07-29

## Meaning

Arrogance and overconfidence tend to precede a downfall.

## Examples

- He bragged all week, then lost the final — pride comes before a fall.
- They celebrated the win before the game was over, forgetting that pride comes before a fall.
- The firm's leadership grew so sure of its dominance that it stopped innovating, a textbook case of pride comes before a fall, and a nimbler rival ate its market within two years.

## Origin

The saying condenses Proverbs 16:18: "Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall." The proverb draws a straight line from arrogance to ruin — the higher the self-regard, the harder the eventual drop. The common modern form, "pride comes before a fall," neatly telescopes the verse's two halves into one, keeping the cause (pride) and the consequence (the fall) while trimming the rest. Its usefulness is in its timing. The phrase is almost always aimed at someone riding high, as a warning that overconfidence invites the very disaster it ignores — the champion who assumes the title is already won, the firm that mistakes a good year for permanent success.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.