See Also: safety(dictionary)
safety pin(dictionary)
safety(2)(dictionary)
safety pin(dictionary)
safety(1)(dictionary)
Safety(medicine)
safety(encyclopedia)
safety net(dictionary)
Safety(health)
Safety net return(finance)

safety(1) (iou)



safety noun & adjective. ME.
[Old & mod. French sauvete from medieval Latin salvitas, from Latin salvus: see SAFE adjective, -TY1.]
A. noun.
The state of being protected from or guarded against hurt or injury; freedom from danger. With possess.: the safety of a specified person or (formerly also in pl.) persons. ME.
V. Pyke He crossed the river in safety. Daily Telegraph To secure the safety of men working underground. G. Daly A gunboat..waiting to move British subjects to safety.
b. Salvation. LME-L17.
Close custody or confinement. ME-L16.
Shakespeare King John Imprison him..Deliver him to safety.
A means or instrument of safety; a protection, a safeguard. LME-L18.
The quality of being unlikely to cause hurt or injury; the quality of not being dangerous or presenting a risk. E18.
Daily Telegraph A drug..to be referred to the Committee on Safety of Drugs.
Hist. Patent Safety, the original hansom cab, which had a device to prevent its overturning if it tilted. M19.
ellipt. A safety bicycle, a safety-catch, a safety match, a safety razor, etc. L19.
T. O'Brien I flicked the safety back and forth, making certain it wouldn't jam.
a. Amer. Football. An act of advancing the ball in one's own end zone by a down; a score of two points awarded against a team for this. Also (more fully safety man), a defensive back who plays in the deepest position. L19.
b. Polo. An act of hitting the ball over one's own goal-line. E20.
c. Baseball. A safe hit. E20.
A metal-ringed outlet for a stove-pipe in the roof of a tent etc. N. Amer. M20.
Phrases: coefficient of safety, factor of safety = safety factor below. margin of safety: see MARGIN noun. Patent Safety: see sense 5 above. play for safety: see PLAY verb.
b. attrib. or as adjective. Designed to reduce any risk of injury or damage incurred during use or operation. E19.
Comb. & special collocations: safety belt (a) = seat belt s.v. SEAT noun; (b) a belt or strap worn by a person working at a height to prevent a fall; safety bicycle Hist. a bicycle of a type differing from the earliest models in the lower and hence safer position of the saddle; safety boat a lifeboat; safety bolt a device for locking the trigger of a gun; safety cab a tractor cab designed with a view to safety in use; safety cage a protective metal cage; spec. a framework of reinforced struts protecting a car's passenger cabin against crash damage; safety-catch a catch or stop attached to a mechanical device as a safeguard, esp. in hoisting apparatus or on the trigger of a gun; safety chain (a) a subsidiary chain connecting railway cars etc. together; (b) a chain securing a watch, bracelet, etc., to prevent it falling off if the fastening opens accidentally; (c) a chain on a door preventing opening beyond a certain point; safety-critical adjective designed or made to be fail-safe; safety curtain a fireproof curtain which can be lowered to protect the main body of a theatre from fire on or behind the stage; safety deposit = safe deposit s.v. SAFE adjective; safety engineer a person trained in accident prevention and the organization and implementation of measures to ensure (esp. industrial) safety; safety factor the ratio of total strength to working strength for a material or structure; safety film Photography film with a non-flammable or slow-burning base; safety first a maxim or slogan emphasizing the necessity of taking precautions to avoid accidents; safety-firster a person unwilling to take risks; safety fuse (a) a fuse (FUSE noun1) which can be ignited at a safe distance from the charge; (b) an electrical fuse (FUSE noun2); safety glass toughened or laminated glass; safety island: see ISLAND noun1 2b; safety lamp a miner's lamp in which the flame is protected so as not to ignite firedamp; safety man: see sense 7a above; safety match a match which can be ignited only by striking on the specially prepared surface provided; safety net: used to prevent injury to an acrobat etc. in case of a fall from a height; fig. any means of protection against difficulty or loss; safety officer a person responsible for safety in a factory etc.; safety paper: specially prepared to guard against the counterfeiting of banknotes etc.; safety play (a) (Billiards & Snooker etc.) play that aims to leave a position in which one's opponent is unable to score; (b) Bridge play that risks the loss of one trick in order to prevent the loss of a greater number; safety plug (a) = FUSIBLE plug; (b) an electrical fuse; safety razor a razor with a guard close to the blade to reduce the risk of cutting the skin; safety rod Nuclear Engineering a rod of a neutron-absorbing material which can be inserted into a reactor in an emergency to slow or stop the reaction; safety valve (a) a valve in a steam boiler which automatically opens to release steam when the pressure exceeds a pre-set amount; (b) fig. a means of giving harmless vent to excitement, energy, etc.; safety vent an outlet affording safety; spec. = sense 8 above; safety zone US an area of a road marked off for pedestrians to wait in safety for buses etc.