‘Don’t Put Your Eggs in One Basket’: Definition, Meaning and Examples

Has someone told you, ‘don’t put your eggs in one basket’? Are you unsure of what that means? Below, we’ll define the phrase and provide examples of how to use it in a sentence.

In short, ‘Don’t put your eggs in one basket’ means:

Essentially, it means not depending on one person or plan of action for your success.

What Does ‘Don’t Put Your Eggs in One Basket’ Mean?

‘Don’t put your eggs in one basket’ is a common English phrase that means you shouldn’t put all of your focus and effort into one thing that may or may not work out. It’s typically used when someone is trying to invest all of their resources and/or energy into one thing when it’s possible that they could lose everything.

You might hear someone say, ‘don’t put your eggs in one basket’ when someone is going to use their last bit of money on an opportunity that could put them in a worse situation than they started out in.

In an episode of Hey Arnold, Helga goes on the road with her mother, Miriam, and their car breaks down. But Miriam only has $5 left in her wallet for some reason and can't afford to fix the car.

Helga initially wants to use the $5 to get herself something to eat because she's starving, but Miriam wants to use their last $5 to enter a bull-riding contest that could potentially win them more money - enough to fix their car and get them back on the road.

Helga thinks that her mom essentially ‘puts all her eggs in one basket’ when she enters the contest. But what she doesn't know is that her mom was the state bull-riding champion in her heyday. Miriam wins the money, and they get the car fixed.

You might also see the phrase written as 'don't put all your eggs in one basket.'

Where Does ‘Don’t Put Your Eggs in One Basket’ Come From?

The phrase ‘don’t put your eggs in one basket’ comes from the novel Don Quixote.

In it, a line reads:

It is part of a wise man to keep himself today for tomorrow and not venture all his eggs in one basket.

Others say that the phrase comes from literally avoiding putting too many eggs in a basket. If you put too many eggs in a basket, you risk losing all of your eggs if you drop the basket.

Examples of ‘Don’t Put Your Eggs in One Basket’ in Sentence 

How would you use ‘don’t put your eggs in one basket’ in a sentence?

Other Ways to Say ‘Don’t Put Your Eggs in One Basket’

What other words and phrases convey the same meaning as ‘don’t put your eggs in one basket’?

Let’s take a look at some examples: 

Concluding Thoughts on ‘Don’t Put Your Eggs in One Basket’

To recap, we learned the following:

Remember, it means not depending on one person or plan of action for your success.

If you ever get stuck on anything, you can always come back to review what you’ve learned. We’ve got a ton of content on idioms you might find helpful as you’re learning the language. Go check it out anytime you need to.

6 responses to “‘Don’t Put Your Eggs in One Basket’: Definition, Meaning and Examples”

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