collateral

[ kuh-lat-er-uhl ]
See synonyms for collateral on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. Finance. property or other assets pledged by a borrower as security for the repayment of a loan: He gave the bank stocks and bonds as collateral for the money he borrowed.

  2. Anatomy.

  1. a relative descended from the same stock, but in a different line.

adjective
  1. accompanying; auxiliary: He received a scholarship and collateral aid.

  2. additional; confirming: collateral evidence;collateral security.

  1. secured by collateral: a collateral loan.

  2. aside from the main subject, course, etc.; secondary: These accomplishments are merely collateral to his primary goal.

  3. descended from the same stock, but in a different line; not lineal: A cousin is a collateral relative.

  4. pertaining to those so descended.

  5. situated at the side: a collateral wing of a house.

  6. situated or running side by side; parallel: collateral ridges of mountains.

  7. Botany. standing side by side.

Origin of collateral

1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Medieval Latin collaterālis, equivalent to col- a variant of com- + Latin laterālis “on the side of the body”; see col-1 lateral

Other words from collateral

  • col·lat·er·al·i·ty [koh-lat-uh-ral-i-tee], /koʊˌlæt əˈræl ɪ ti/, col·lat·er·al·ness, noun
  • col·lat·er·al·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use collateral in a sentence

  • Traipsing the Biennale and the numerous collaterals has been at once ho-hum and encouraging.

    My Biennale Favorites | Anthony Haden-Guest | June 8, 2009 | THE DAILY BEAST
  • He had already used these as collaterals, in the borrowing of small sums at short time, to meet emergencies in his operations.

    Sevenoaks | J. G. Holland
  • His notes, too, secured by fraudulent collaterals, were approaching a second and third maturity.

    Sevenoaks | J. G. Holland
  • The stocks and bonds, based simply upon ideas, became worthless, the collaterals became dust and ashes.

  • Of these, at least one hundred thousand dollars were on demand, with stock collaterals.

British Dictionary definitions for collateral

collateral

/ (kɒˈlætərəl, kə-) /


noun
    • security pledged for the repayment of a loan

    • (as modifier): a collateral loan

  1. a person, animal, or plant descended from the same ancestor as another but through a different line

adjective
  1. situated or running side by side

  2. descended from a common ancestor but through different lines

  1. serving to support or corroborate

  2. aside from the main issue

  3. uniting in tendency

Origin of collateral

1
C14: from Medieval Latin collaterālis, from Latin com- together + laterālis of the side, from latus side

Derived forms of collateral

  • collaterally, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for collateral

collateral

Property or its equivalent that a debtor deposits with a creditor to guarantee repayment of a debt.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.