safety net

noun

: something that provides security against misfortune or difficulty

Examples of safety net in a Sentence

The program provides a safety net for people who have lost their jobs.

Recent Examples on the Web

Meta attorney Kevin Huff pushed back on those assertions in his opening statement, highlighting an array of efforts by the company to weed out harmful content from its platforms while warning users that some dangerous content still gets past its safety net. —Barbara Ortutay, Fortune, 20 Feb. 2026

European voters won’t want to sacrifice their social safety net for the world’s most dangerous weapon, which means deficits would have to rise substantially to finance any project. —Daniel Depetris, Chicago Tribune, 19 Feb. 2026

The horrific killings stunned the city and brought attention to the high rates of violence encountered by New Yorkers without housing, as well as the often fatal consequences of glaring shortcomings in the city’s social safety net. —Molly Crane-Newman, New York Daily News, 19 Feb. 2026

They may be cut off from financial resources, disowned, or stripped of personal property and communal safety nets. —Literary Hub, 18 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1877, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for safety net

• electrojet
• marionette
• plantagenet
• videlicet
• abet
• asset
• baguette
• banquette
• barbette
• beget
• beset
• brevet