DictionaryAI

caution

SayKAW-shuhn/ˈkɔʃ(ə)n/UK/ˈkɔːʃ(ə)n/

Pluralcautions (some meanings)

Verbcautions, cautioning, cautioned

8 meanings of caution

Practice

  1. 1
    noununcountable
    Care you take to stay safe when something could be dangerous.

    Like a seatbelt: you use it so you stay safe if something goes wrong.

    Use caution when you cross the busy street.

    She opened the hot oven door with great caution.

    Similarcare, prudence, wariness, vigilance

    Oppositerecklessness, carelessness, rashness

    Note
  2. 2
    noununcountable
    Thinking carefully about what might happen before you act, so nothing goes wrong.

    He showed caution by saving some money before he quit his job.

    A little caution before you post something online can save you trouble later.

    Similarprudence, circumspection, care, deliberation

    Oppositerashness, recklessness

    Note
  3. 3
    verbtransitive
    To warn someone that something could be dangerous or could go wrong.

    Doctors caution people about mixing these two medicines.

    The teacher cautioned us not to run near the pool.

    Similarwarn, advise, alert, counsel

    Note
  4. 4
    nouncountable
    A formal warning from the police instead of being taken to court for a small crime.

    The police let him off with a caution instead of charging him.

    She accepted a caution after she admitted taking the magazine without paying.

    Similarwarning

    Note
  5. 5
    nouncountable
    In soccer, a yellow card that the referee shows a player for breaking a rule.

    He got a caution for pulling another player's shirt.

    One more caution and she will miss the next game.

    Similarbooking

    Note
  6. 6
    verbtransitive
    In soccer, to show a player a yellow card for breaking a rule.

    The referee cautioned the defender for a hard tackle.

    Referees caution players who waste time on purpose.

    Similarbook

    Note
  7. 7
    noununcountable
    Money or a promise that protects someone if a person does not do what they agreed to do.

    The judge let him go home after his family paid caution for him.

    The lender asked for caution before handing over the money for the shop.

    Similarsecurity, surety, bail, bond

    Note

Less common meaning

  1. 8
    noundatedusually singular
    A person who surprises or amuses people by acting in an unusual or bold way.

    Your grandma is a real caution, dancing on the table at her own birthday party.

    ‘You are a caution,’ she said, when she came out. ‘I don't understand you.’
    1915, W. Somerset Maugham, Of Human BondageHere, caution means a person whose behavior is surprising or hard to figure out.

    Similarcharacter, card

    Note

Practice

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Origin

It comes from Latin cavēre, meaning "to be on one's guard." English took it through Old French caution ("security, surety").