Example: Il a décidé de prendre les devants pour éviter les problèmes futurs.
Definition
"Prendre les devants" means to take proactive action or initiative to anticipate and address potential issues before they arise, as in the example: 'He decided to take the lead to avoid future problems.' It implies acting ahead to gain an advantage or control.
Translations
To take the initiative
Tomar la iniciativa
Het voortouw nemen
Prendre la iniciativa
Die Initiative ergreifen
Etymology
The phrase "Prendre les devants" comes from French, where 'prendre' means 'to take' and 'les devants' literally means 'the fronts' or 'the lead.' It figuratively means taking the front position or acting before others, highlighting the idea of being proactive or seizing initiative.
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"Prendre les devants" appears in the Vocaplus list "", containing 105 commonly used expressions.
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To take the initiative