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precaution

pre·cau·tion

UK/pɹiːˈkɔːʃən/ US/pɹiːˈkɔː.ʃən/ fairly common

noun

1.

a precautionary measure warding off impending danger or damage or injury etc.

  • “he put an ice pack on the injury as a precaution”
  • “an insurance policy is a good safeguard”
  • “we let our guard down”
3.

judiciousness in avoiding harm or danger

  • “he exercised caution in opening the door”
  • “he handled the vase with care”

Origin

From French précaution, Latin praecautio, from praecavere, praecautum (“to guard against beforehand”); prae (“before”) + cavere (“be on one's guard”). See pre-, and caution.

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.