safety

/ˈseɪfti/

/ˈseɪfti/

Other forms: safeties

A safety is a device that helps keep you from doing bad things, like the safety on a gun that prevents you from pulling the trigger accidentally.

Safety, besides meaning "the state of being safe," is used for things that promote safety. If you designate a special meeting place in case of emergency, that place is a safety. If you use contraception during sex, that's also a safety, to prevent pregnancy. In football it's a safety if a player is tackled behind his own goal line. And if you hit the baseball in a way to ensure you reach the base, that's called a safety too.

Definitions of safety

1. noun

   the state of being certain that adverse effects will not be caused by some agent under defined conditions
   “insure the safety of the children”

   “the reciprocal of safety is risk”

   antonyms:

   danger

   the condition of being susceptible to harm or injury

   types:

   biosafety

   safety from exposure to infectious agents

   risklessness

   safety as a consequence of entailing no risk

   impregnability, invulnerability

   having the strength to withstand attack

   salvation

   the state of being saved or preserved from harm

   security

   the state of being free from danger or injury

   peace, public security

   the general security of public places

   secureness

   the state of freedom from fear or danger

   protection, shelter

   the condition of being protected

   type of:

   condition, status

   a state at a particular time
2. noun

   a device designed to prevent injury or accidents
   synonyms: guard, safety device

   types:

   fender

   a low metal guard to confine falling coals to a hearth

   safety catch, safety lock

   guard consisting of a locking device that prevents a weapon from being fired

   type of:

   device

   an instrumentality invented for a particular purpose
3. noun

   a safe place
   “He ran to safety”

   synonyms: refuge

   types:

   harborage, harbourage

   (nautical) a place of refuge (as for a ship)

   type of:

   area, country

   a particular geographical region of indefinite boundary (usually serving some special purpose or distinguished by its people or culture or geography)
4. noun

   (baseball) the successful act of striking a baseball in such a way that the batter reaches base safely
   synonyms: base hit

   types:

   home run, homer

   (baseball) a base hit on which the batter scores a run

   bingle, single

   a base hit on which the batter stops safely at first base

   double, two-bagger, two-base hit, two-baser

   a base hit on which the batter stops safely at second base

   three-bagger, three-base hit, triple

   a base hit at which the batter stops safely at third base

   line single, line-drive single

   a single resulting from a line drive

   line double, line-drive double

   a double resulting from a line drive

   line triple, line-drive triple

   a triple resulting from a line drive

   solo blast, solo homer

   a home run with no runners on base

   type of:

   hit

   (baseball) a successful stroke in an athletic contest (especially in baseball)
5. noun

   a score in American football; a player is tackled behind his own goal line
   type of:

   score

   the act of scoring in a game or sport
6. noun

   contraceptive device consisting of a sheath of thin rubber or latex that is worn over the penis during intercourse
   type of:

   birth control device, contraceptive, contraceptive device, preventative, preventive, prophylactic device

   an agent or device intended to prevent conception