plural safeties
1
: the condition of being safe from undergoing or causing hurt, injury, or loss
2
: a device (as on a weapon or a machine) designed to prevent inadvertent or hazardous operation
3
a(1)
: a situation in football in which a member of the offensive team is tackled behind its own goal line that counts two points for the defensive team compare touchback
(2)
: a member of a defensive backfield in football who occupies the deepest position in order to receive a kick, defend against a forward pass, or stop a ballcarrier
b
: a billiard shot made with no attempt to score or so as to leave the balls in an unfavorable position for the opponent
c
: base hit
safetied; safetying
: to protect against failure, breakage, or accident
safety a rifle
Synonyms
Examples of safety in a Sentence
Noun
The changes were made in the interest of public safety.
He made some suggestions about how to improve airline safety.
I'm worried about the safety of the people who were left behind.
We were reluctant to leave the relative safety of our hotel.
She was only a mile from the safety of her home when the accident occurred.
The car has been redesigned for improved safety.
The toys are inspected for safety.
They were led to safety by the rescuers.
The injured hiker was finally able to reach safety.
Recent Examples on the Web
Ben Morse, CNN, 20 Oct. 2024
Besides the overall list, Berkshire Hathaway’s report also delves into specific categories of safety, highlighting the top performers in areas like crime prevention, transportation and health systems.
—Laura Begley Bloom, Forbes, 20 Oct. 2024
Ellise Shafer, Variety, 20 Oct. 2024
Mendoza, 56, was one of the employees of Impact Plastics Inc. in Erwin, Tennessee, who were swept from the open bed of a truck trying to bring her and other workers to safety from the floodwaters of Hurricane Helene.
—Suzanne Gamboa, NBC News, 2 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for safety 
Noun
Stroud will have to be at his best to avoid throwing an interception to Packers safety Xavier McKinney who leads the league with five picks.
—Ben Morse, CNN, 20 Oct. 2024
Besides the overall list, Berkshire Hathaway’s report also delves into specific categories of safety, highlighting the top performers in areas like crime prevention, transportation and health systems.
—Laura Begley Bloom, Forbes, 20 Oct. 2024
Verb
When one teenage girl fainted in the crowd, she was helped to safety by onlookers who then offered her sips of water from their own bottles.
—Ellise Shafer, Variety, 20 Oct. 2024
Mendoza, 56, was one of the employees of Impact Plastics Inc. in Erwin, Tennessee, who were swept from the open bed of a truck trying to bring her and other workers to safety from the floodwaters of Hurricane Helene.
—Suzanne Gamboa, NBC News, 2 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for safety
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'safety.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near safety
Cite this Entry
“Safety.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/safety. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.
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