caveat
noun
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
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.
Pete Grathoff
july 14, Kansas City Star, 14 July 2025
The caveat to all this praise is that the Spanish do give opponents chances.
—Michael Cox, New York Times, 12 July 2025
However, a caveat: Without citizen oversight and proactivity, the trash will accumulate, the trees will grow and the potholes will reappear.
—Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 11 July 2025
The caveat is that my daughter and her fiance are planning a destination wedding in another country.
—Harriette Cole, Mercury News, 11 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for caveat
Cite this Entry
“Caveat.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/caveat. Accessed 31 Jul. 2025.
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caveat
noun
Latin, may he/she beware
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