safeguard
Americannoun
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safeguards
plural
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something that serves as a protection or defense or that ensures safety.
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a permit for safe passage.
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a guard or convoy.
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a mechanical device for ensuring safety.
verb (used with object)
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safeguards,
present (3rd person singular)
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safeguarded,
past participle, past
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safeguarding
present participle
noun
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a person or thing that ensures protection against danger, damage, injury, etc
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a document authorizing safe-conduct
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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safeguardsimple
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safeguardssimple
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have safeguardedperfect
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has safeguardedperfect
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am safeguardingprogressive
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are safeguardingprogressive
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is safeguardingprogressive
-
have been safeguardingperfect progressive
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has been safeguardingperfect progressive
Past
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safeguardedsimple
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had safeguardedperfect
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was safeguardingprogressive
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were safeguardingprogressive
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had been safeguardingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of safeguard
1325–75; Middle English savegarde (noun) safe conduct < Middle French salvegarde, sauvegarde. See safe, guard
Explanation
A safeguard is a defense or precaution. You could describe a flu shot as a safeguard against getting sick, for example. Safeguards protect against something negative, whether it's an attacking army invading a country or a boy you don't like much asking you to the prom. A store's security system is a safeguard against theft, and a secret password is a safeguard against your sister reading your email. You can use it as a verb too: "We clearly need to safeguard our Halloween candy so Mom and Dad don't steal it after we go to bed."
Vocabulary lists containing safeguard
Declaration of the Rights of Woman (1791)
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Herbert Hoover on "Rugged Individualism" (1928)
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A Single Shard
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
West Devon Borough Council said the orders would help safeguard the trees for future generations and protect their benefits.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
The ruling "completes an exemplary democratic debate", the Elysee Palace said, adding that the legislation "provides an essential safeguard for our fellow citizens".
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
Learn why cyber insurance for business is now an essential boardroom financial safeguard.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 9, 2026
“This is an extraordinary measure, adopted to safeguard national security and prevent possible repercussions for our Nation,” Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni wrote on X.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 2026
“Nevertheless, island civilians must do whatever they can independent of naval and military aid to safeguard their homes and businesses against sabotage or bombing.”
From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson
ByteDance in response said it was taking steps to strengthen its safeguards to prevent unauthorized use of IP or likeness.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026
The lab team also worried about violating longstanding safeguards limiting use of private citizen data.
From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026
The ruling also raised concerns over the law's requirement to provide proof of age to access online services and said it failed to establish "the legal safeguards necessary".
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
The findings show that antineutrino detectors can gather information about nuclear reactors even while they are shut down, potentially creating new opportunities for reactor monitoring, nuclear safety, and safeguards.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 14, 2026
And all plans, safeguards, policing, and coercion are fruitless.
From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck
"The government will ensure that the company as a whole remains viable for the future and that Germany's security of supply is safeguarded," the spokeswoman said.
From Barron's ● May 19, 2026
The executive pointed to China, as well as Japan and South Korea—which both allow the sale of Chinese cars—as examples of countries that successfully safeguarded their domestic auto industries.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 16, 2026
Of the 38 vulnerable people safeguarded and referred to agencies, nine of them were children.
From BBC ● Mar. 13, 2026
“We believe mining of metals such as nickel and copper should be safeguarded in Europe through competitive long-term business conditions,” Tom Soderman, general manager of Boliden Kevitsa, said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 4, 2026
According to the Pukhtunwali code of panah, or asylum, if a person asks for protection against his enemies, the person, in this case Osama, would be safeguarded at all costs.
From "Shooting Kabul" by N. H. Senzai
"Effective public safety must always be built on proper safeguarding."
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
“The Trump administration remains focused on delivering more investments and jobs for the American people while safeguarding our national security.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
Former safeguarding minister Jess Phillips, said on Wednesday that Levy's second murder "could have been avoided had the state not failed" and that the case displayed a "litany of failures".
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
"This change continues the work already undertaken by the contest to strengthen safeguarding and protect younger artists from the pressures associated with competing at the Eurovision Song Contest," they added in the statement.
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
But her main accomplishment may have been inadvertently to keep new ideas about Amazonian history from the public eye—ideas about its past that may, according to their advocates, play a role in safeguarding its future.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
