Basic Details
Word: Safeguard
Part of Speech: Verb
Meaning: To protect something or someone from harm, loss or damage. As a noun, a safeguard is something that gives this protection.
Synonyms: protect, shield, defend, preserve
Antonyms: endanger, risk, threaten
How to Spell Safeguard
Syllables: safe - guard
Tricky part: Safe keeps its e, and guard has a silent u straight after the g: g-u-a-r-d. Many students write gaurd.
Watch out for: safegaurd, safguard, safegard, saveguard
Memory tip: A guard keeps you safe, so put the two together. In guard the u hugs the g, just as it does in guide and guess.
Usage Examples
Example 1: Wearing a seat belt is a simple safeguard against injury.
Example 2: Parents should safeguard their children's passwords and photos online.
Example 3: The bank added extra safeguards after the fraud was discovered.
Fun Fact
Guard came into English from French, and it is a cousin of the English word ward, as in warden. French turned an old w sound into gu, which is also why guarantee and warranty are related.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Makeup
Choose the correctly spelt compound word:
a) wristwach
b) safeguard
c) headquaters
d) firefigter
Show answer
b) safeguard. Quarters, fighter and watch are misspelt in the others; safe and guard are both whole in safeguard.
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word safeguard as used in the sentence:
New laws were passed to safeguard the forests of the Western Ghats from illegal mining.
a) shield
b) endanger
c) protect
d) preserve
Show answer
b) endanger. To endanger the forests would be to put them at risk, the opposite of protecting them.
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
safegueard
a) g
b) e
c) a
d) u
Show answer
b) e. Guard has only u and a between the g and the r; the e in that spot is extra.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which of these is a safeguard against losing your work on a computer?
a) saving a backup copy
b) typing much faster
c) turning up the brightness
d) using a bigger font
Show answer
a) saving a backup copy
2. A helmet safeguards a cyclist by ____.
a) keeping rain off the seat
b) protecting the head in a fall
c) making the bicycle go faster
d) lighting up the road ahead
Show answer
b) protecting the head in a fall
