pride wenteth before a fall

A form of pride comes before a fall — A person who is excessively proud will often suffer a setback or failure.

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Meanings

proverb
  1. alternativehypercorrectnonstandardpseudo-archaicAlternative form of pride comes before a fall.

    Where was my pride? Pride wenteth before a fall. The hell with pride.

    1979, Blossom Elfman, The Sister Act, page 44
    2 more examples

    By the time I reached the Navy my love of steam preceded me, and I became the stoker for a rickety steam cutter inherited from the Maine. Pride wenteth before a fall; I put the slice bar through one of the cutter’s tubes — and lost my job in a hasty exit over the side.

    1968, Robert Welch, American Opinion, XI, page 59

    Brock’s foot touched the plate just as he and Freehan’s mitt with the ball in it met. Normally, a tie was given to the runner, but the umpire must have believed that pride wenteth before a fall and called Brock out.

    2007, David Renner, Memoirs of a Fool, I, page 171
Cite this entry
APA

pride wenteth before a fall. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pride%20wenteth%20before%20a%20fall

MLA

“pride wenteth before a fall.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pride%20wenteth%20before%20a%20fall. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pride wenteth before a fall,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pride%20wenteth%20before%20a%20fall.

Source: pride wenteth before a fall on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.