safety

American  

[seyf-tee] / ˈseɪf ti /

noun

plural

safeties

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

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

3. a contrivance or device to prevent injury or avert danger.

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

5. the action of keeping safe.

6. Football.

   1. 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.

   2. an award of two points to the opposing team on this play.

   3. Also called safety man.  a player on defense who lines up farthest behind the line of scrimmage.

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

8. Slang. a condom.

9. Obsolete. close confinement or custody.

---

safety British  

/ ˈseɪftɪ /

noun

1. the quality of being safe

2. freedom from danger or risk of injury

3. a contrivance or device designed to prevent injury

4. American football

   1. Also called: safetyman.  either of two players who defend the area furthest back in the field

   2. 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 team Compare touchback

---

Other Word Forms

• self-safety
  noun
• supersafety
  noun

Etymology

Origin of safety

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English sauvete, from Middle French; equivalent to safe + -ty ²

Explanation

A safety is a device that helps keep you from doing bad things, like the safety on a gun that prevents you from pulling the trigger accidentally. Safety, besides meaning "the state of being safe," is used for things that promote safety. If you designate a special meeting place in case of emergency, that place is a safety. If you use contraception during sex, that's also a safety, to prevent pregnancy. In football it's a safety if a player is tackled behind his own goal line. And if you hit the baseball in a way to ensure you reach the base, that's called a safety too.

Example Sentences

The witness was also asked by the lawyer about safety issues that could have arisen for local families whose back gardens adjoin the waste ground where the culvert is located.

From BBC • May 8, 2026

Under the Online Safety Act, companies found to have breached safety rules can face fines of up to 10% of qualifying worldwide revenue or £18m, whichever is greater.

From BBC • May 7, 2026

What I see coming is a rising thirst for safety and a kicking away from the world that made Ted Turner possible.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 7, 2026

In that same speech, O’Neill also called for the FDA to institute “progressive approval,” in which a new medicine or treatment is released after only proving its safety, not its efficacy.

From Salon • May 7, 2026

And sure enough, three days later Gladys Herdman took a pair of kindergarten safety scissors and cut Eugene Preston’s hair in the shape of a dog.

From "The Best School Year Ever" by Barbara Robinson

Related Words

• freedom
• security