caveat
/ˈkæviɑt/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.15 in modern English
11
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
3
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A warning.
noun
A qualification or exemption.
noun
A notice requesting a postponement of a court proceeding.
Example Sentences
- "There is at least one caveat in cultivation: you’ll have to stick to only one discipline, such as that according to Bhaiṣajyaguru, the Medicine Buddha."
- "And ſure, although it was invented to eaſe his mynde of griefe, there be a number of caveats therein to forewarne other young gentlemen to foreſtand with good government their folowing yl fortunes; […]"
- "Two young Harvard M.B.A.'s worked up some highly optimistic projections—with the caveat that these were speculative and should of course be tested."
- "He gave his daughter some hyacinth bulbs with the caveat that she plant them in the shade."
- "If a midfielder and a defender are acquired by 1 September then Louis van Gaal will consider United's summer in the market almost a success. The one caveat is that the Dutchman wished to have finished strengthening the squad before the start of the season."
- "The writing has been on the wall that Americans’ support for mass deportation was subject to all kinds of caveats and provisos."
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Latin caveat (“may he/she/it beware”), third-person singular present active subjunctive of caveō (“to beware of”). Doublet of show, both ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kewh₁- (“to heed, look, feel, take note of”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: *(s)kewh₁-
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈkæviɑt/
- British English: /ˈkævɪæt/