safeguard
Americannoun
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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)
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
-
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:
With pressure mounting for Europe's biggest carmaker to publicly outline its cost-saving plans, chief executive Oliver Blume told workers in the memo that the group must "act now" to safeguard its future.
From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026
Chinese officials have recently held discussions with domestic AI labs that produce the country’s most powerful models about how to safeguard their valuable proprietary technology, according to people familiar with the matter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
It added that Tehran "will take whatever measures it considers necessary to safeguard its national interests and national security".
From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026
Senior military leaders have publicly supported the mission, expressing both a moral obligation to safeguard civilian life and a necessity to hit their intended targets.
From Salon ● Jul. 7, 2026
But we have a reasonable doubt, and this is a safeguard that has enormous value in our system.
From "Twelve Angry Men" by Reginald Rose
We do not have to allow companies to create models they cannot control, without enough safeguards to keep them from breaking free and doing as they please.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
Two agreements -- one on "peaceful nuclear cooperation" and another on "bilateral safeguards" -- were signed by US Energy Secretary Chris Wright and his Saudi counterpart Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, the US Energy Department said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026
OpenAI said the incident was "unprecedented", external, and it is working with Hugging Face to investigate what happened and strengthen safeguards.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
The United States on Wednesday announced a landmark deal with Saudi Arabia that would establish a civilian nuclear program in the Gulf country, with Washington insisting the agreement includes nonproliferation safeguards.
From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026
There in front of us was the thick metal door with its three different locks and safeguards that we had no way of getting through.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
These kinds of investigations hint at a larger reality in the Ecuadorean province, where modern life bends around an ecosystem so fiercely safeguarded that wildlife effectively holds legal right of way.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026
Robert Gunn, station director of Sizewell B, said the deal would ensure hundreds of jobs were safeguarded.
From BBC ● Jul. 9, 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
India said the deal safeguarded sensitive sectors including dairy, cereals, poultry, soybean meal and certain fruits and vegetables.
From Barron's ● Jan. 27, 2026
We cautiously removed the heavy stone that safeguarded Rosa’s eternal rest and slid the white coffin from its niche.
From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende
By gaining a better understanding of how chemicals such as sulfoxaflor influence bee biology, researchers hope to develop farming practices that protect crops while also safeguarding the pollinators that many food systems depend on.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 10, 2026
“Individuals who perform work in these facilities are entitled to workplace safety protections, and this settlement reinforces Cal/OSHA’s commitment to enforcing those protections and safeguarding vulnerable workers,” she added.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
Geography provided security, safeguarding American lives and freedoms.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026
The NCA said it had put in place a coordinated response with prosecutors and other safeguarding bodies in order to identify and help victims.
From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026
Who is safeguarding the consumer to see that no residues of dieldrin or heptachlor are appearing in milk?
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
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.
