safety net

American  

noun

safety nets plural

1. a large net rigged between a person, as a trapeze performer, and the ground as protection in a fall.

2. something that provides a margin of protection or security.

   the safety net of federal credit for financial institutions.

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safety net British  

noun

1. a net used in a circus to catch high-wire and trapeze artistes if they fall

2. any means of protection from hardship or loss, such as insurance

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• safety-net
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• safety nets
  plural

Etymology

Origin of safety net

First recorded in 1945–50

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

safety net

They involve the slipperiness of truth and the crushing inadequacy of our mental-health system and social safety net.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026

But for people who don't, lawyers say the proposals would provide a safety net.

From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026

The administration’s aim is to provide a financial safety net for smaller slaughterhouses at a time when meat processors are losing an estimated $300 per head of cattle.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026

Greenspan ultimately changed his tune, and Wall Street came to count on the Fed to provide a safety net under the market, no matter how overvalued it might be.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 23, 2026

This story is the safety net above which he swoops and dives like a brilliant clown in a bankrupt circus.

From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy