Meanings
- Some tasks may be accomplished more easily by two (or more) people working together than by one working alone.
Two heads are better than one, sir. We will prosecute our investigations together.
1906, Arthur Quiller-Couch, chapter 17, in The Mayor of Troy3 more examples
"Mr. Francis Osbaldistone is an innocent man, Rashleigh," said Miss Vernon, "and he demands an investigation of the charge against him, and I intend to support him in it." "You do, my pretty cousin?—I should think, now, Mr. Francis Osbaldistone was likely to be as effectually, and rather more delicately, supported by my presence than by yours." "Oh, certainly; but two heads are better than one, you know."
1818, Sir Walter Scott, chapter 8, in Rob RoyOn the principle that two heads are better than one, he resolved to take his companion, Jones, into his confidence and ask him to make a suggestion.
1882, Horatio Alger, chapter 23, in Ben's NuggetCollaboration is great for screenwriting. It's not as simple as two heads are better than one, but if you find the right person, you can feed off each other.
2003 November 9, Nancy Meyers as told to Amy Barrett, “Sex and the Single Older Woman”, in New York Times, retrieved 25 Feb 2013
Translations
Bulgarian две глави мислят по-добре от една
- две глави мислят по-добре от една (dve glavi misljat po-dobre ot edna)joint thinking pays
Chinese Mandarin 三個臭皮匠，勝過諸葛亮 /三个臭皮匠, 胜过诸葛亮
- 三個臭皮匠，勝過諸葛亮 /三个臭皮匠joint thinking pays
- 胜过诸葛亮 (sān ge chòupíjiàng shèng guò Zhūgé Liàng)joint thinking pays
Czech víc hlav víc ví
- víc hlav víc víjoint thinking pays
Dutch twee hoofden zijn beter dan een
- twee hoofden zijn beter dan eenjoint thinking pays
Finnish yhteistyö on voimaa
- yhteistyö on voimaajoint thinking pays
French deux avis valent mieux qu'un, deux têtes valent mieux qu'une
- deux avis valent mieux qu'unjoint thinking pays
- deux têtes valent mieux qu'unejoint thinking pays
- il y a plus dans deux têtes que dans unejoint thinking pays
German vier Augen sehen mehr als zwei
- vier Augen sehen mehr als zweijoint thinking pays
Hungarian több szem többet lát
- több szem többet látjoint thinking pays
Icelandic betur sjá augu en auga
- betur sjá augu en augajoint thinking pays
Italian due teste sono meglio di una
- due teste sono meglio di unajoint thinking pays
Lithuanian dvi galvos geriau, nei viena
- dvi galvos geriau, nei vienajoint thinking pays
Polish co dwie głowy, to nie jedna
- co dwie głowy, to nie jednajoint thinking pays
Portuguese duas cabeças pensam melhor [do] que uma
- duas cabeças pensam melhor [do] que umajoint thinking pays
Spanish cuatro ojos ven más que dos, dos cabezas piensan mejor que una
- cuatro ojos ven más que dosjoint thinking pays
- dos cabezas piensan mejor que unajoint thinking pays
Swedish fyra ögon ser mer än två
- fyra ögon ser mer än tvåjoint thinking pays
Thai สองหัวดีกว่าหัวเดียว
- สองหัวดีกว่าหัวเดียวjoint thinking pays
Turkish bir elin nesi var iki elin sesi var
- bir elin nesi var iki elin sesi varjoint thinking pays
Vietnamese tam ngu thành hiền, một cây làm chẳng nên non, ba cây chụm lại nên hòn núi cao
- tam ngu thành hiềnjoint thinking pays
- một cây làm chẳng nên non, ba cây chụm lại nên hòn núi caojoint thinking pays
Cite this entry
two heads are better than one. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/two%20heads%20are%20better%20than%20one
“two heads are better than one.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/two%20heads%20are%20better%20than%20one. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “two heads are better than one,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/two%20heads%20are%20better%20than%20one.
Source: two heads are better than one on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.