safety

English Online Dictionary. What means safety‎? What does safety mean?

English

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English savete, from Old French sauveté, from earlier salvetet, from Medieval Latin salvitās, salvitātem, from Latin salvus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈseɪfti/
• Rhymes: -eɪfti

Noun

safety (countable and uncountable, plural safeties)

1. The condition or feeling of being safe; security; certainty.

   If you push it to the limit, safety is not guaranteed.
2. (mechanics) A mechanism on a weapon or dangerous equipment designed to prevent accidental firing.

   Be sure that the safety is set before proceeding.

3. (American football) An instance of a player being sacked or tackled in the end zone, or stepping out of the end zone and off the field, resulting in two points to the opposite team.

   He sacked the quarterback in the end zone for a safety.

4. (American football) Any of the defensive players who are in position furthest from the line of scrimmage and whose responsibility is to defend against passes as well as to be the tacklers of last resort.

   The free safety made a game-saving tackle on the runner who had broken past the linebackers.

5. (baseball) A safety squeeze.
6. Preservation from escape; close custody.
7. (dated) A safety bicycle.

Antonyms

• danger

Derived terms

Related terms

• safe

Translations

See also

• security
• secure

Verb

safety (third-person singular simple present safeties, present participle safetying, simple past and past participle safetied)

1. (transitive) To secure (a mechanical component, as in aviation) to keep it from becoming detached even under vibration.
2. to secure a firing pin, as in guns, to keep the gun from firing

Anagrams

• Tesfay