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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

caution.

Prudence when faced with, or when expecting to face, danger; care taken in order to avoid risk or harm.

7 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈkɔːʃ(ə)n/Received-Pronunciation/ˈkoːʃ(ə)n/Australia, British, New-Zealand, Southern, Standard/ˈkɔʃ(ə)n//ˈkɑʃ(ə)n/cot-caught-merger

  1. Prudence when faced with, or when expecting to face, danger; care taken in order to avoid risk or harm.

    countable · uncountable
    take caution
    have caution

  2. A careful attention to the probable effects of an act, in order that failure or harm may be avoided.

    countable · uncountable
    The guideline expressed caution against excessive radiographic imaging.

  3. Security; guaranty; bail.

    countable · uncountable

  4. One who draws attention or causes astonishment by their behaviour.

    countable · dated · uncountable
    Oh, that boy, he's a caution! He does make me laugh.

  5. A formal warning given as an alternative to prosecution in minor cases.

    countable · uncountable

  6. A yellow card.

    countable · uncountable
Where this word comes from

Recorded since 1297 as Middle English caucioun (“bail, guarantee, pledge”), from Old French caution (“security, surety”), itself from Latin cautiō, from cautus, past participle of caveō, cavēre (“be on one's guard”).

verb/ˈkɔːʃ(ə)n/Received-Pronunciation/ˈkoːʃ(ə)n/Australia, British, New-Zealand, Southern, Standard/ˈkɔʃ(ə)n//ˈkɑʃ(ə)n/cot-caught-merger

  1. To warn; to alert, advise that caution is warranted.

    transitive

  2. To read someone their formal legal rights as part of a lawful arrest.

    UK · transitive

  3. To give a yellow card.

Where this word comes from

Recorded since 1297 as Middle English caucioun (“bail, guarantee, pledge”), from Old French caution (“security, surety”), itself from Latin cautiō, from cautus, past participle of caveō, cavēre (“be on one's guard”).

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.