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.
Parker Gabriel, Denver Post, 14 June 2025
The Recording Academy is ready to do it all again at the 2026 Grammys, but with a few caveats and changes to its categories and rules.
—Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 12 June 2025
Sometimes, adding a caveat to a declarative message serves to attenuate — or even to completely undermine — that message.
—Charles C. W. Cooke, National Review, 10 June 2025
But don’t bet against binge-watching There are, of course, still caveats.
—Shannon Carroll, Quartz, 6 June 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 4 Jul. 2025.
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caveat
noun
Latin, may he/she beware
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