play it safe

phrase

: to be careful and avoid risk or danger

I decided to play it safe and leave early so that I would be sure to arrive on time.

Examples of play it safe in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Small, independent houses may publish less or close altogether, narrowing the market, while larger publishers play it safe and lean on bestsellers. — ABC News, 21 Sep. 2026

Companies that liked to play it safe were willing to take on the far right-flirting Musk. — Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 2 Sep. 2026

Still, there’s a chance the Broncos will continue to play it safe and hold him out against the Packers. — Parker Gabriel, Denver Post, 20 Aug. 2026

Manager Matt Busby’s tactics were to play it safe, especially in the opening 20 minutes to quieten the 75,000 Estadio da Luz crowd. — Andy Mitten, New York Times, 14 Aug. 2026

Rhymes for play it safe

• chafe
• waif
• unsafe
• vouchsafe