safety

[seyf-tee]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR safety ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural safe·ties.

the state of being safe; freedom from the occurrence or risk of injury, danger, or loss.

the quality of averting or not causing injury, danger, or loss.

a contrivance or device to prevent injury or avert danger.

Also called lock, safety catch, safety lock. a locking or cutoff device that prevents a gun from being fired accidentally.

the action of keeping safe.

Football.

an act or play in which a player on the offensive team is tackled in his own end zone or downs the ball there, or in which the ball goes out of bounds on a fumble, having last been in bounds in or over the end zone and having last been in the possession of an offensive player.Compare touchback.
an award of two points to the opposing team on this play.
Also called safety man.a player on defense who lines up farthest behind the line of scrimmage.

Baseball. a base hit, especially a one-base hit.

Slang. a condom.

Obsolete. close confinement or custody.

Origin of safety

1250–1300; Middle English sauvete < Middle French. See safe, -ty²

Related formsself-safe·ty, nounsu·per·safe·ty, noun

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

Related Words for safety

freedom, security, sanctuary, immunity, shelter, cover, defense, refuge, asylum, assurance, invulnerability, safeness, impregnability, inviolability

Examples from the Web for safety

Contemporary Examples of safety

Not for the benefit of the harasser, of course, but for your own safety.
Cover-Ups and Concern Trolls: Actually, It's About Ethics in Suicide Journalism
Arthur Chu
January 3, 2015
There was virtually no government oversight of safety and operational standards.
Who Will Get AsiaAir 8501’s Black Boxes?
Clive Irving
December 30, 2014
Helicopters lifted pregnant women and children to safety first.
‘We’re Going to Die’: Survivors Recount Greek Ferry Fire Horror
Barbie Latza Nadeau
December 29, 2014
Before the Maidan revolution, Russian political refugees living in Kiev were worried about their safety.
Russians Plot Exiled Government in Kiev
Anna Nemtsova
December 16, 2014
This government obligation is limited by practical considerations of safety and security.
The GOP’s Hidden Ban on Prison Abortions
Harold Pollack
December 13, 2014

Historical Examples of safety

But can the safety of the state be secured by merely excluding the vicious poor?
Philothea
Lydia Maria Child
We are now in safety again, and to-morrow being Sunday we will rest.
Explorations in Australia
John Forrest
They looked after the safety of the roads and the waterways.
Ancient Man
Hendrik Willem van Loon
Then there was another stream to cross, which was also passed in safety.
Harriet, The Moses of Her People
Sarah H. Bradford
These only becloud, they do not help to point the way of safety and honor.
United States Presidents' Inaugural Speeches
Various

British Dictionary definitions for safety

safety

noun plural -ties

the quality of being safe

freedom from danger or risk of injury

a contrivance or device designed to prevent injury

American football

Also called: safetymaneither of two players who defend the area furthest back in the field
a play in which the offensive team causes the ball to cross its own goal line and then grounds the ball behind that line, scoring two points for the opposing teamCompare touchback

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 safety

early 14c., from Old French sauvete "safety, safeguard; salvation; security, surety," earlier salvetet (11c., Modern French sauveté), from Medieval Latin salvitatem (nominative salvitas) "safety," from Latin salvus (see safe (adj.)). Meaning "trigger-lock on a gun" is attested from 1881.

As a North American football position, first recorded 1931. As a type of score against one's own team, 1881. Safety-valve, which diminishes the risk of explosion, is from 1797; figurative sense recorded from 1818. Safety-net in literal sense (in machinery) by 1916, later of aerial circus performances (1920s); figurative use by 1950. Safety-first as an accident-prevention slogan first recorded 1873.