emptor
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of emptor
1870–75; < Latin: buyer, equivalent to em ( ere ) to buy + -tor -tor, with intrusive -p-
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.
One of these men is at least honest about who he is, adorning himself in red flags that read caveat emptor.
From Slate ● Jan. 17, 2025
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
For anyone relying on access to public charging stations, at least in my part of town, I’d issue an electric caveat emptor.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 26, 2018
The maxim of caveat emptor is said to owe its origin to the fact that in early times sales of goods took place principally in market overt.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 5 "Cat" to "Celt" by Various
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.
