precaution en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- [pɹɪˈkɑ.ʃn̩] (cot-caught-merger)
- /pɹiːˈkɔːʃən/
- /pɹiːˈkɔ.ʃən/ (General-American)
- [pɹiːˈkɑ.ʃn̩] (cot-caught-merger)
- /pɹiːˈkɑ.ʃən/ (cot-caught-merger)
- /pɹiːˈkɔː.ʃən/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- /pɹɪˈkɑ.ʃən/ (cot-caught-merger)
- (US) audio
Etymology
From French précaution, Latin praecautio, from praecavere, praecautum (“to guard against beforehand”); prae (“before”) + cavere (“be on one's guard”). See pre-, and caution.
Meanings
-
(countable, uncountable) Previous caution or care; caution previously employed to prevent misfortune or to secure good.
his life was saved by precaution
July 2, 1826, John Henry Newman, The Philosophical Temper, First Enjoined by the Gospel The ancient philosophers treasured up their supposed discoveries with miserable precaution.
-
(countable, uncountable) A measure taken beforehand to ward off evil or secure good or success; a precautionary act.
to take precautions against risks of accident
Despite all these precautions, however, severe storms sometimes caused drifts which brought traffic completely to a standstill.
1955 December, H. A. Vallance, “The Highland Centenary—2”, in Railway Magazine, page 859:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| precautions | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
precautionary · precautional · overprecaution
Relateds
Synonyms
Translations (43)
got 𐌼𐌿𐌽𐍃 (Previous caution or care) · la provisio (Previous caution or care) · sv försiktighetsåtgärd (Previous caution or care) · bg предпазна мярка (A measure taken beforehand to ward off evil or secure good or success) · nb forholdsregel (A measure taken beforehand to ward off evil or secure good or success) · nl voorzorg (A measure taken beforehand to ward off evil or secure good or success) · cmn 用心 (Previous caution or care) · eo antaŭrimedo (A measure taken beforehand to ward off evil or secure good or success) · mi whakatūpato (A measure taken beforehand to ward off evil or secure good or success) · cmn 預防 /预防 (Previous caution or care) · cmn 防範 /防范 (Previous caution or care) · pdt Väasecht (A measure taken beforehand to ward off evil or secure good or success) · fa احتیاط (Previous caution or care) · ru предусмотри́тельность (Previous caution or care) · ka სიფრთხილის ზომები (A measure taken beforehand to ward off evil or secure good or success) · fi varotoimi (A measure taken beforehand to ward off evil or secure good or success) · bg предпазливост (Previous caution or care) · az ehtiyat (A measure taken beforehand to ward off evil or secure good or success) · la provisio (A measure taken beforehand to ward off evil or secure good or success) · id langkah pencegahan (Previous caution or care) · ru предосторо́жность (A measure taken beforehand to ward off evil or secure good or success) · fi varokeino (A measure taken beforehand to ward off evil or secure good or success) · es precaución (Previous caution or care) · nb sikkerhetsforanstaltning (A measure taken beforehand to ward off evil or secure good or success) · az ehtiyat (Previous caution or care) · ja 用心 (Previous caution or care) · fa اقدام احتیاطی (A measure taken beforehand to ward off evil or secure good or success) · pdt Väasecht (Previous caution or care) · ja 予防 (Previous caution or care) · de Vorsorge (Previous caution or care) · ru предосторо́жность (Previous caution or care) · fi varotoimenpide (A measure taken beforehand to ward off evil or secure good or success) · no sikkerhetsforanstaltning (Previous caution or care) · sv säkerhetsåtgärd (Previous caution or care) · la provisio (Previous caution or care) · nl voorzorgsmaatregel (A measure taken beforehand to ward off evil or secure good or success) · bg внимание (Previous caution or care) · fr précaution (Previous caution or care) · az ehtiyat tədbiri (A measure taken beforehand to ward off evil or secure good or success) · es precaución (A measure taken beforehand to ward off evil or secure good or success) · tr önlem (Previous caution or care) · de Vorsichtsmaßnahme (A measure taken beforehand to ward off evil or secure good or success) · nn forholdsregel (A measure taken beforehand to ward off evil or secure good or success)