caveat

noun

ca·​ve·​at ˈka-vē-ˌät 

-ˌat,

ˈkä-vē-ˌät 

ˈkā-vē-ˌat

1

a

: an explanation or warning that should be remembered when evaluating, interpreting, or doing something

This was an informal survey … so let's proceed with that caveat in mind.

—John E. Dunn

b

: a warning not to engage in certain acts or practices

There is an important caveat against taking the data at face value.

—nasdaq.com

The caveat is that you must use this knowledge for good, not evil, and never for personal gain.

—Dutch Mandel

c

: an explanation to prevent misinterpretation

a caveat about the way a word is used

2

: a notice to a judicial officer to suspend a proceeding until the party filing it has an opportunity to be heard

a caveat entered to the probate court to stop the proving of a will

Did you know?

You may be familiar with the old saying caveat emptor, nowadays loosely translated as "let the buyer beware." In the 16th century, this adage was imparted as a safeguard for the seller: allow the buyer to examine the item (for example, a horse) before the sale is completed so that the seller can't be blamed if the item turns out to be unsatisfactory. Caveat in Latin means "let him beware" and comes from the verb cavēre, meaning "to be on guard." Perhaps you've also heard the phrase caveat lector; translated as "let the reader beware," it's a warning to take what one reads with a grain of salt. English retained caveat itself as a noun for something that serves to warn, explain, or caution. The word caution, by the way (no salt needed), is also a descendant of cavēre.

Examples of caveat in a Sentence

Sound great? There's just one caveat: Knowledge about how genes work is still in the scientific Stone Age. —Andrea Knox, Chicago Tribune, 4 Aug. 2000

We'll add a caveat of our own for parents: After your kids walk through 17,500 gal. of swirling water, they're not going to be satisfied running through the lawn sprinkler. —Jim Wilson, Popular Mechanics, July 1999

But the youthquake in the new economy comes with a caveat that also may begin applying to politics. If you're inexperienced and you want a big job, you'd better be smart as hell. —Jonathan Alter, Newsweek, 22 Nov. 1999

… a cluster bomb can destroy objects over a wider area, with the important caveat that it is effective only if the bomblets have sufficient destructive power on their own. —Norman Friedman, Desert Victory, 1991

His investment advice comes with a caveat: that the stock market is impossible to predict with absolute accuracy.

Recent Examples on the Web

And the job came with an unexpected caveat. —Stephanie Sengwe, PEOPLE, 4 Nov. 2025

Saturday’s telecast was 10 percent ahead of the last World Series game seven in 2019 (with the caveat that Nielsen didn’t include out of home viewing before 2020). —Rick Porter, HollywoodReporter, 3 Nov. 2025

The club did indeed turn a profit in 2021-22, the first full season of Laporta’s second term, but there was a significant caveat. —Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 3 Nov. 2025

This caveat is reflected in the spate of mass layoffs that large tech companies have conducted over the past couple of months. —Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Fortune, 30 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Latin, let him beware, from cavēre — more at hear

First Known Use

1557, in the meaning defined at sense 1b

Phrases Containing caveat

• caveat emptor

Rhymes for caveat

• acrobat
• autocrat
• automat
• bundesrat
• bureaucrat
• butterfat
• chemostat
• copycat
• cryostat
• democrat
• diplomat
• guzerat

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Legal Definition

caveat

noun

ca·​ve·​at ˈka-vē-ˌät, -ˌat; ˈkä-vē-ˌät, ˈkā-vē-ˌat 

1

a

: a warning enjoining one from certain acts or practices

b

: an explanation to prevent a misinterpretation

2

: a notice to a court or judicial officer to suspend a proceeding until the opposition can be heard

a caveat entered in the probate court to stop the proving of the will

caveat verb

Etymology

Latin, may he/she beware