SAFETY

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does safety mean? 

• SAFETY (noun)
  The noun SAFETY has 6 senses:

1. the state of being certain that adverse effects will not be caused by some agent under defined conditions

2. a safe place

3. a device designed to prevent injury or accidents

4. (baseball) the successful act of striking a baseball in such a way that the batter reaches base safely

5. contraceptive device consisting of a sheath of thin rubber or latex that is worn over the penis during intercourse

6. a score in American football; a player is tackled behind his own goal line

  Familiarity information: SAFETY used as a noun is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SAFETY (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The state of being certain that adverse effects will not be caused by some agent under defined conditions

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Context example:

the reciprocal of safety is risk

Hypernyms ("safety" is a kind of...):

condition; status (a state at a particular time)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "safety"):

biosafety (safety from exposure to infectious agents)

risklessness (safety as a consequence of entailing no risk)

impregnability; invulnerability (having the strength to withstand attack)

salvation (the state of being saved or preserved from harm)

security (the state of being free from danger or injury)

Antonym:

danger (the condition of being susceptible to harm or injury)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A safe place

Classified under:

Nouns denoting spatial position

Synonyms:

refuge; safety

Context example:

He ran to safety

Hypernyms ("safety" is a kind of...):

area; country (a particular geographical region of indefinite boundary (usually serving some special purpose or distinguished by its people or culture or geography))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "safety"):

harborage; harbourage ((nautical) a place of refuge (as for a ship))

Sense 3

Meaning:

A device designed to prevent injury or accidents

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

guard; safety; safety device

Hypernyms ("safety" is a kind of...):

device (an instrumentality invented for a particular purpose)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "safety"):

fender (a low metal guard to confine falling coals to a hearth)

safety catch; safety lock (guard consisting of a locking device that prevents a weapon from being fired)

Sense 4

Meaning:

(baseball) the successful act of striking a baseball in such a way that the batter reaches base safely

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

base hit; safety

Hypernyms ("safety" is a kind of...):

hit ((baseball) a successful stroke in an athletic contest (especially in baseball))

Domain category:

ball; baseball; baseball game (a ball game played with a bat and ball between two teams of nine players; teams take turns at bat trying to score runs)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "safety"):

home run; homer (a base hit on which the batter scores a run)

bingle; single (a base hit on which the batter stops safely at first base)

double; two-bagger; two-base hit; two-baser (a base hit on which the batter stops safely at second base)

three-bagger; three-base hit; triple (a base hit at which the batter stops safely at third base)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Contraceptive device consisting of a sheath of thin rubber or latex that is worn over the penis during intercourse

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

condom; prophylactic; rubber; safe; safety

Hypernyms ("safety" is a kind of...):

birth control device; contraceptive; contraceptive device; preventative; preventive; prophylactic device (an agent or device intended to prevent conception)

Sense 6

Meaning:

A score in American football; a player is tackled behind his own goal line

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("safety" is a kind of...):

score (the act of scoring in a game or sport)

Domain category:

American football; American football game (a game played by two teams of 11 players on a rectangular field 100 yards long; teams try to get possession of the ball and advance it across the opponents goal line in a series of (running or passing) plays)

 Context examples 

We have descended in safety, though in a most unexpected fashion, and all is well with us.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The treatment also raised no safety alarms.

(Molecule in Immune System Able to Trigger 'Suicide' of Cancerous Tumors, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Also called: Automobile Safety, Car Safety, Traffic Accidents, Vehicle Safety, Car Seats, Automobile safety, Car safety, Vehicle safety

(Motor Vehicle Safety, NIH)

It ran up the tree, and from a point of safety chattered back savagely.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

And from this time forth everyone could again go into the forest with safety.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

This imagination was dreadful in itself, but soothing inasmuch as it supposed the safety of my friends.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

It never occurred to us to doubt Jim Hawkins, but we were alarmed for his safety.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

Place her in safety and comfort: shelter her degradation with secrecy, and leave her.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

Tell us the truth, for there lies your only hope of safety.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Good job safety and prevention practices can reduce your risk of these problems.

(Occupational Health, NIH)