Jump To:

• 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-, key-, 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.

---

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

---

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.”

---

Etymology

Origin of caveat emptor

Borrowed into English from Latin around 1515–25

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

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

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2022

Do you see any universe in which there is a regulatory framework that has the caveat emptor stuff labeled out there the way you guys want it to be?

From Slate ● Jan. 21, 2022

The last typical case that we shall give illustrates the singular application by this more than singular judge of the legal maxim caveat emptor.

From West Indian Fables by James Anthony Froude Explained by J. J. Thomas by J. J. (John Jacob) Thomas

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

Behind that legal Latin maxim, "Caveat emptor," the merchant stood for centuries, safely entrenched.

From Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great - Volume 11 Little Journeys to the Homes of Great Businessmen by Elbert Hubbard