Definition

1. Verb:
   • To anticipate / To foresee: To think about or prepare for something before it happens. This involves predicting a future event or need and acting accordingly.
   • To preempt / To forestall: To take action to prevent something from happening or to get ahead of a potential issue or competitor.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Công ty đã đón trước xu hướng thị trường. (The company anticipated the market trend.)
  • Hãy đón trước những câu hỏi khó từ khán giả. (Anticipate the difficult questions from the audience.)
  • Đội nhà cố gắng đón trước đường chuyền của đối thủ. (The home team tried to intercept the opponent's pass [literally: to anticipate the opponent's pass].)

Advanced Usage

• Used in strategic contexts like business, sports, or planning to describe a proactive, rather than reactive, approach.
• Often implies a strategic advantage gained by acting early.

Variants and Related Words

• Đón đầu: (verb) To get ahead of, to preempt. Often used interchangeably with "đón trước" in competitive contexts.
  • Họ luôn tìm cách đón đầu đối thủ. (They always seek ways to get ahead of their competitors.)

Synonyms

• Anticipate: To regard as probable; expect or predict.
• Foresee: To be aware of beforehand; predict.
• Preempt: To take action in order to prevent an anticipated event from happening.
• Forestall: To prevent or obstruct by taking action ahead of time.

Related Idioms

• While "đón trước" itself is not typically part of a fixed idiom, its meaning is central to the strategic concept of "đón đầu đối phương" (to preempt/get the jump on an opponent).