safeguard
Americannoun
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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)
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
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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:
"We will discuss all the issues on the agenda, first and foremost Iran. Naturally, our goal is to safeguard our security and also to expand the circle of peace around us," he added.
From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026
Earlier this year, a handful of West Virginia legislators pushed to add some “bumpers” to the program to safeguard public funds.
From Salon ● Jul. 27, 2026
Peeling, too, or removing outer layers of produce, is another effective safeguard.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
It also added digital signature barcodes on driver’s licenses and identification cards as an added safeguard against identity fraud.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
To safeguard our society, a system of laws has been created.
From "Monster" by Walter Dean Myers
The regulator said "safeguards" designed to monitor cost efficiency would include transparency and cost reporting requirements, and assurance by independent experts.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
He told Cumming that guidelines and safeguards for actors doing nude scenes had changed over the last 12 years.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
The OpenAI spokeswoman said the company’s safeguards have since become significantly more robust and the models now refuse these types of requests.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
OpenAI says it has since "added strengthened safeguards" to its testing process.
From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026
This time, I let go of the inhibitions, the safeguards I’ve taught myself to always hold up.
From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray
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
"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
The executive pointed to China, as well as Japan and South Korea—which both allow the sale of Chinese cars—as examples of countries that successfully safeguarded their domestic auto industries.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 16, 2026
India said the deal safeguarded sensitive sectors including dairy, cereals, poultry, soybean meal and certain fruits and vegetables.
From Barron's ● Jan. 27, 2026
According to the Pukhtunwali code of panah, or asylum, if a person asks for protection against his enemies, the person, in this case Osama, would be safeguarded at all costs.
From "Shooting Kabul" by N. H. Senzai
If the economy is weakening, yields will fall, and the economy picks up, safeguarding employment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
White House spokesman Kush Desai said the administration would pursue “investments and economic relief for the American people while safeguarding our national security.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026
She told BBC News the nature of the role as safeguarding minister means "you hear the worst of humanity", saying: "I understand what it is like not to be seen and not to be heard."
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
By gaining a better understanding of how chemicals such as sulfoxaflor influence bee biology, researchers hope to develop farming practices that protect crops while also safeguarding the pollinators that many food systems depend on.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 10, 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.
