Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
×

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

free safety

noun

Definition of free safety

  1. :  a safety in football who has no particular receiver to cover in a man-to-man defense

From the M-W Editors

alt-59245a1009b19
Trending: Brennan: Concerns of Russian Efforts to 'suborn'
decimate-video
Is it wrong to use 'decimate' to mean 'destroy'?
perfect-storm
Stormy Weather
peter-bruegel-tower-of-babel-painting
Where in the World? A Quiz

1958

First Known Use of free safety

1958

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up free safety? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

WORD OF THE DAY

malleable

play

capable of being altered or controlled

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. suborn "to induce secretly to do an unlawful thing"

  2. nutjob 'a mentally unbalanced person'

  3. collusion 'Secret cooperation for an illegal or dishonest purpose'

  4. counsel Is it 'council' or 'counsel'?

  5. witch hunt Lookups spiked after Trump used the word in a tweet

SEE ALL

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

alt-592453dea3986
Read on to Become Part of the Dictionary 'Illuminati'

Secrets will be revealed.

alt-592333459542f
How 'Namaste' Entered The English Language

"I bow to you"

boulton-and-park
Notes on 'Campy'

Plus: how to use n'importe in a sentence

sin
What is 'Sin'?

It's striking how little this word has changed

Ask the Editors

decimate-video
Is it wrong to use 'decimate' to mean 'destroy'?

Language changes

serial-comma
The Serial Comma

Why don't they call it the Merriam-Webster comma?

video-irregardless-grammar-peeve-blend-of-the-synonyms-irrespective-and-regardless
Irregardless

It is in fact a real word (but that doesn't mean you should use it).

video-moose-goose-weird-plurals
Weird Plurals

One goose, two geese. One moose, two... moose. What's up with that?

Word Games

peter-bruegel-tower-of-babel-painting
Where in the World? A Quiz

Do you know what languages these words come from?

Take the quiz
wide-eyed-dog-smelling-rose
What's that Smell?! Quiz

Words for odors and such...

Take the quiz
How Strong Is Your Vocabulary?
How Strong Is Your Vocabulary?

Test your vocabulary with our 10-question quiz!

Take the quiz
SCRABBLE® Sprint
SCRABBLE® Sprint

SCRABBLE® fans, sharpen your skills!

Play the game