safeguard
UK/ˈseɪfɡɑːd//ˈseɪfɡɑɹd/
More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations
safeguard noun: something that serves as a guard or protection; a defense.
Noun
safeguard (plural safeguards)
- Something that serves as a guard or protection; a defense.
- Getting a flu shot is a good safeguard against illness.
- [T]he king ſent to the ſea ſixe good ſhippes, well manned and vitayled for the warre: […] for ſaffegarde of the Merchauntes, and other the kinges ſubiectes, that were greuouſly ſpoyled and robbed on the ſea, by Frenchmen, Scottes and other rouers.a. 1548 (date written), Edward Hall, Richard Grafton, “[The Triumphant Reigne of Kyng Henry the VIII.] The .XIIJ. Yere.”, in The Vnion of the Two Noble and Illustre Famelies of Lancastre & Yorke...
- One who, or that which, defends or protects; defence; protection.
- Thy sword, the safeguard of thy brother's throne.1726, George Granville, To the King, in the First Year of His Majesty’s Reign
- A safe-conduct or passport, especially in time of war.
- the inheritance of their loves and safeguardc. 1608–1609 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Coriolanus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
- The monitor lizard.
- The same idea is entertained of the Safeguard in America, as of the Monitor in Africa, and other parts of the Old World, […]1844, The Animal Kingdom
Verb
safeguard (third-person singular simple present safeguards, present participle safeguarding, simple past and past participle safeguarded)
- To protect, to keep safe.
- She kept a savings to safeguard against debt and emergencies.
- "[...] Crossrail 2 is mothballed. It is safeguarded, it is absolutely not cancelled."2020 November 18, “Network News: London 'bailout' achieved with just minutes to spare”, in Rail, page 10
- To implement safeguarding.
- To escort safely.
safeguard meaning in Tamil, Urdu, Malayalam and Kannada
safeguard in Tamil
- ஓம்பிக்காவல்
safeguard in Urdu
- safeguard
- آسرا āsrā
safeguard in Malayalam
- to protect, to keep safe
- സംരക്ഷിക്കുക saṁrakṣikkuka
safeguard in Kannada
- ರಕ್ಷಣೆ, ಕಾವಲುದಳ, ಕಾಪುದಳ, ಕಾಪಾಡು, ಕಾಯು, ರಕ್ಷಿಸು
More languagesFewer languages
- safeguard in Pashto
- ساتل
Examples of safeguard in a sentence
- The manifesto talks of safeguards to ensure that freight operators receive fair access to the network.
- We cannot have a culture that sees safeguarding as a separate add-on.
- Without proper safeguarding, toxic heavy metals seep into the soil and groundwater.
Forms of safeguard
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | safeguards |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | safeguards |
| present participle | safeguarding |
| past participle | safeguarded |
| past | safeguarded |
Origin of safeguard
From Middle English savegard, from Middle French sauvegarde, from Old French salve garde, sauve garde, reconstructed as safe + guard.
Words formed from safeguard
Questions about safeguard
- What does safeguard mean?
- Safeguard means something that serves as a guard or protection; a defense.
- What is safeguard in Tamil?
- Safeguard in Tamil is ஓம்பிக்காவல். See Safeguard meaning in Tamil.
- What part of speech is safeguard?
- Safeguard can be a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce safeguard?
- Safeguard is pronounced /ˈseɪfɡɑːd/ (UK).
- What is the plural of safeguard?
- The plural of safeguard is safeguards.
Words near safeguard in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: safeguard (page history and authors); safeguard (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); آسرا (Urdu) (page history and authors); safeguard (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ساتل (Pashto) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-safeguard.ogg, LL-Q1860 (eng)-Wodencafe-safeguard.wav.
Cite this entry: “safeguard.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/safeguard. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.