safeguard
Americannoun
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safeguards
plural
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something that serves as a protection or defense or that ensures safety.
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a permit for safe passage.
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a guard or convoy.
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a mechanical device for ensuring safety.
verb (used with object)
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safeguards,
present (3rd person singular)
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safeguarded,
past participle, past
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safeguarding
present participle
noun
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a person or thing that ensures protection against danger, damage, injury, etc
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a document authorizing safe-conduct
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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safeguardsimple
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safeguardssimple
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have safeguardedperfect
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has safeguardedperfect
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am safeguardingprogressive
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are safeguardingprogressive
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is safeguardingprogressive
-
have been safeguardingperfect progressive
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has been safeguardingperfect progressive
Past
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safeguardedsimple
-
had safeguardedperfect
-
was safeguardingprogressive
-
were safeguardingprogressive
-
had been safeguardingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of safeguard
1325–75; Middle English savegarde (noun) safe conduct < Middle French salvegarde, sauvegarde. See safe, guard
Explanation
A safeguard is a defense or precaution. You could describe a flu shot as a safeguard against getting sick, for example. Safeguards protect against something negative, whether it's an attacking army invading a country or a boy you don't like much asking you to the prom. A store's security system is a safeguard against theft, and a secret password is a safeguard against your sister reading your email. You can use it as a verb too: "We clearly need to safeguard our Halloween candy so Mom and Dad don't steal it after we go to bed."
Vocabulary lists containing safeguard
Declaration of the Rights of Woman (1791)
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Herbert Hoover on "Rugged Individualism" (1928)
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A Single Shard
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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.
See Examples For:
China, a major buyer of Iranian oil, has vowed to safeguard its interests.
From Barron's ● Sep. 2, 2026
China, in response to the US measures and threats, has vowed to safeguard its interests.
From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 2026
It said it has sufficient staffing to implement the changes, and is ready to safeguard the database it builds using “multi-layered security controls.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
Foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said China was firmly opposed to what it called "illegal unilateral sanctions" and would take "all necessary measures" to safeguard its rights.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
Therefore, my size itself is a safeguard against my ever sinking too low within the structure of our civilization.
From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
"It is the first model we are designating at this level, and requires stronger safeguards during development and before release," the blog said.
From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 2026
The lawsuit alleges that Suno’s safeguards against generating songs by entering artists’ names are easy to circumvent by, for example, spelling out a name with spaces between each letter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
ChatGPT maker OpenAI said Tuesday it was preparing to release its newest powerful model, known as Astra, after implementing "stronger safeguards" following a rogue cyberattack involving a different AI model.
From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 2026
The answer is not to reject this technology, but to establish strong safeguards for its use.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
There in front of us was the thick metal door with its three different locks and safeguards that we had no way of getting through.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
These kinds of investigations hint at a larger reality in the Ecuadorean province, where modern life bends around an ecosystem so fiercely safeguarded that wildlife effectively holds legal right of way.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026
The family also said the apprentice was "not properly safeguarded" by BAE Systems.
From BBC ● May 5, 2026
During the service, with President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo in the congregation, the Catholic leader called for "greater room for freedom" and human dignity to be safeguarded.
From Barron's ● Apr. 23, 2026
"May there be greater room for freedom and may the dignity of the human person always be safeguarded," the Pope said pointedly.
From BBC ● Apr. 22, 2026
We cautiously removed the heavy stone that safeguarded Rosa’s eternal rest and slid the white coffin from its niche.
From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende
That stockpile allowed it to dramatically slash its oil imports when the war broke out, keeping a lid on global oil prices and safeguarding its own economy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026
He saw the encounter as a hopeful image of "a gentle giant safeguarding the last green meadows of the sea".
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
The "deep, solemn" green colour "precisely evokes that period of the liturgical year dedicated to hope and to the safeguarding of creation", he explained.
From Barron's ● Aug. 22, 2026
On Wednesday, Shaw had not yet had an opportunity to review the book-policy complaint, but said both policies ultimately look out for children by safeguarding the rights of parents.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
Who is safeguarding the consumer to see that no residues of dieldrin or heptachlor are appearing in milk?
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
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.
