Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition


Safety

Safe′ty

,
Noun.
[Cf. F.
sauveté
.]
1.
The condition or state of being safe; freedom from danger or hazard; exemption from hurt, injury, or loss.
Up led by thee,
Into the heaven I have presumed,
An earthly guest . . . With like
safety
guided down,
Return me to my native element.
Milton.
2.
Freedom from whatever exposes one to danger or from liability to cause danger or harm; safeness; hence, the quality of making safe or secure, or of giving confidence, justifying trust, insuring against harm or loss, etc.
Would there were any
safety
in thy sex,
That I might put a thousand sorrows off,
And credit thy repentance!
Beau. & Fl.
3.
Preservation from escape; close custody.
Imprison him, . . .
Deliver him to
safety
; and return.
Shakespeare
Safety arch
(Arch.)
,
a discharging arch.
See under
Discharge
,
Verb.
T.
Safety belt
,
a belt made of some buoyant material, or which is capable of being inflated, so as to enable a person to float in water; a life preserver.
Safety buoy
,
a buoy to enable a person to float in water; a safety belt.
Safety cage
(Mach.)
,
a cage for an elevator or mine lift, having appliances to prevent it from dropping if the lifting rope should break.
Safety lamp
.
(Mining)
See under
Lamp
.
Safety match
,
a match which can be ignited only on a surface specially prepared for the purpose.
Safety pin
,
a pin made in the form of a clasp, with a guard covering its point so that it will not prick the wearer.
Safety plug
.
See
Fusible plug
, under
Fusible
.
Safety switch
.
See
Switch
.
Safety touchdown
(Football)
,
the act or result of a player’s touching to the ground behind his own goal line a ball which received its last impulse from a man on his own side; – distinguished from touchback. See
Touchdown
. Same as
safety
Safety tube
(Chem.)
,
a tube to prevent explosion, or to control delivery of gases by an automatic valvular connection with the outer air; especially, a bent funnel tube with bulbs for adding those reagents which produce unpleasant fumes or violent effervescence.
Safety valve
,
a valve which is held shut by a spring or weight and opens automatically to permit the escape of steam, or confined gas, water, etc., from a boiler, or other vessel, when the pressure becomes too great for safety; also, sometimes, a similar valve opening inward to admit air to a vessel in which the pressure is less than that of the atmosphere, to prevent collapse.

Webster 1828 Edition


Safety

SA'FETY

, n.
1.
Freedom from danger or hazard; as the safety of an electrical experiment; the safety of a voyage.
I was not in safety, nor had I rest. Job 3.
2.
Exemption from hurt, injury or loss. We crossed the Atlantic in safety.

Definition 2024


safety

safety

English

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Noun

safety (countable and uncountable, plural safeties)

  1. The condition or feeling of being safe; security; certainty.
    If you push it to the limit, safety is not guaranteed.
  2. (mechanics) A mechanism on a weapon or dangerous equipment designed to prevent accidental firing.
    Be sure that the safety is set before proceeding.
  3. (American football) An instance of a player being sacked or tackled in the end zone, or steps out of the end zone and off the field, resulting in two points for the opposite team.
    He sacked the quarterback in the end zone for a safety.
  4. (American football) Any of the defensive players who are in position furthest from the line of scrimmage and whose responsibility is to defend against passes as well as to be the tacklers of last resort.
    The free safety made a game-saving tackle on the runner who had broken past the linebackers.
  5. Preservation from escape; close custody.
    • Shakespeare
      Imprison him, [] / Deliver him to safety; and return.
  6. (dated) A safety bicycle.
    • 1897, American Architect and Architecture (volumes 57-58, page 51)
      Many wheelmen and wheelwomen, riding safeties, tandems and tricycles, stopped there during the evening and we had good opportunity for comparing American and English bicycles []

Antonyms

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

See also

Verb

safety (third-person singular simple present safeties, present participle safetying, simple past and past participle safetied)

  1. (transitive) To secure (a mechanical component, as in aviation) to keep it from becoming detached even under vibration.