safetied

1. 1
   verb

   Simple past and past participle of safety.

   The mechanic safetied the turnbuckles before signing off on the inspection.

   Each castle nut was safetied with a cotter pin to keep it from backing out.

   Note

   A verb from aviation and gunsmithing. To safety a part is to lock it so vibration cannot shake it loose, and the same verb covers securing a gun's firing pin so the weapon cannot fire. As with carry and carried, the final y becomes -ied, giving one spelling for both past tense and participle. That spelling is shared with the adjective for a locked weapon, so a safetied rifle can be read either way.

2. 2
   adjective

   Having the safety mechanism engaged, so the device cannot be fired or operated unintentionally.

   The instructor checked that each rifle was safetied before the students approached the line.

   A safetied firearm should never be treated as completely harmless.

   Note

   A gun handler's yes-or-no word: a rifle is safetied or it is not, never more safetied. It usually sits before the noun, as with nervous soldiers fingering their safetied weapons. Keep it distinct from unloaded. The Beam: Season 3 (2015) names unloaded and permanently safetied weapons side by side, because engaging the catch does not empty the gun.

Showing meanings only. Show all 2