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• caveat emptor
  caveat emptor

  noun

  let the buyer beware: the principle that the seller of a product cannot be held responsible for its quality unless it is guaranteed in a warranty.
• Caveat emptor
  Caveat emptor

  Latin for “Let the buyer beware.” It means that a customer should be cautious and alert to the possibility of being cheated: “Caveat emptor is the first rule of buying a used car.”

caveat emptor

American  

[kav-ee-aht emp-tawr, -at, kah-vee-, kay-, kah-we-aht emp-tohr] / ˈkæv iˌɑt ˈɛmp tɔr, -ˌæt, ˈkɑ vi-, keɪ-, ˈkɑ wɛˌɑt ˈɛmp toʊr /

noun

1. let the buyer beware: the principle that the seller of a product cannot be held responsible for its quality unless it is guaranteed in a warranty.

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caveat emptor British  

/ ˈɛmptɔː /

noun

1. the principle that the buyer must bear the risk for the quality of goods purchased unless they are covered by the seller's warranty

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Caveat emptor Cultural  

1. Latin for “Let the buyer beware.” It means that a customer should be cautious and alert to the possibility of being cheated: “Caveat emptor is the first rule of buying a used car.”

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Etymology

Origin of caveat emptor

Borrowed into English from Latin around 1515–25

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

caveat emptor Caveat emptor

As the phrase goes in Latin — caveat emptor, or “let the buyer beware.”

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 4, 2024

"This is one of the caveat emptor things that all foreign would-be acquirers should keep in mind."

From Reuters ● Aug. 31, 2023

The future as he saw it would be a range of options for information, caveat emptor, including everything from ChatGPT to Wikipedia to Reddit to TikTok.

From New York Times ● Jul. 18, 2023

New Yorkers are going to be talking about Speaker’s Corner, at 8-5, but caveat emptor.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2022

Meanwhile you trust at your peril, caveat emptor, your eyes are your market, or words to similar effect.

From The Cab of the Sleeping Horse by John Reed Scott

Caveat emptor, though: Little can be accurately foreseen in the highly unpredictable market for non-fungible tokens, it would appear.

From Reuters ● Mar. 14, 2023

Caveat emptor: California has a long history of being a sunny haven for health and wellness fads.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 1, 2019

In other words, the old standard should prevail: Caveat emptor, let the buyer beware.

From Salon ● Oct. 10, 2018

Caveat emptor, suggested John White, 72, a medium, mystic and medical intuitive, for the American Medical Association has not blessed these practices.

From New York Times ● Aug. 4, 2018

Caveat emptor has become a phrase thrust out of good merchandising.

From The Romance of a Great Store by Edward Hungerford

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