caveat

[kav-ee-aht, -at, kah-vee-, key-]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR caveat ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a warning or caution; admonition.

Law. a legal notice to a court or public officer to suspend a certain proceeding until the notifier is given a hearing: a caveat filed against the probate of a will.

Nearby words

Origin of caveat

< Latin: let him beware, 3rd person singular present subjunctive of cavēre to take care; see caution

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for caveat

The one caveat: Asprey advises only buying butter made from grass-fed or pastured cows.
Bulletproof Coffee and the Case for Butter as a Health Food|DailyBurn|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Instead, MacMillan has the temerity to issue a caveat mid-thrust.
‘Halt and Catch Fire’ and AMC’s Push to Reset Dramas|Andrew Romano|May 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But then, just when we feared that the Cox we suspected we knew was about to get too schmaltzy, too idyllic, she adds a caveat.
Courteney Cox Gets Personal About Her Directorial Debut, ‘Just Before I Go’|Kevin Fallon|April 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Such a caveat is welcoming after having been force-fed the western canon by certain others.
John Sutherland‘s Enjoyable Little History of Literature|Malcolm Forbes|November 29, 2013|DAILY BEAST

The one caveat, and this makes the narrative failures even more apparent, is that the human/Vektan faces look really weird.
‘Killzone: Shadow Fall’ Review: Oh My God, This PlayStation 4 Game Is Beautiful|Alec Kubas-Meyer|November 19, 2013|DAILY BEAST
That sense of caveat donor was perhaps their most pathetic characteristic.
The Dwelling Place of Light, Complete|Winston Churchill
As I propose throwing in a caveat against this general meaning, I proceed to state my case.
Extracts from the Diary and Correspondence of the Late Amos Lawrence; with a brief account of some incidents of his life|Amos Lawrence
For nearly four thousand years, perhaps longer, caveat emptor ruled the hard world of barter.
The Romance of a Great Store|Edward Hungerford
Caveat emptor is the only motto going, and the worst proverb that ever came from dishonest stony-hearted Rome.
Phineas Redux|Anthony Trollope
"I shall enter a caveat, all the same," repeated Mr. Winwood.
The Mystery of 31 New Inn|R. Austin Freeman

British Dictionary definitions for caveat

caveat

noun

law a formal notice requesting the court or officer to refrain from taking some specified action without giving prior notice to the person lodging the caveat

a warning; caution

Word Origin for caveat

C16: from Latin, literally: let him beware

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

Word Origin and History for caveat

caveat

1540s, from Latin, literally "let him beware," 3rd person singular present subjunctive of cavere "to beware, take heed, watch, guard against," from PIE root *skeue- "to pay attention, perceive" (cf. Sanskrit kavih "wise, sage, seer, poet;" Lithuanian kavoti "tend, safeguard;" Armenian cucanem "I show;" Latin cautio "wariness;" Greek koein "to mark, perceive, hear," kydos "glory, fame," literally "that which is heard of;" Old Church Slavonic chujo "to feel, perceive, hear," cudo "wonder," literally "that which is heard of;" Czech (z)koumati "to perceive, be aware of;" Serbian chuvati "watch, heed;" Old English sceawian "to look at" (cf. show (v.)); Middle Dutch schoon "beautiful, bright," properly "showy;" Gothic hausjan "hear").