Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1500-1600
Language: French
Origin: précaution, from Latin, from praecavere 'to guard against'

precaution

 noun
     
pre‧cau‧tion [countable usually plural]
something you do in order to prevent something dangerous or unpleasant from happening:
Fire precautions were neglected.
as a precaution
The traffic barriers were put there as a safety precaution.
precaution against
Save your work often as a precaution against computer failure.
wise/sensible precaution
The trails are well marked, but carrying a map is a wise precaution.
Vets took precautions to prevent the spread of the disease.
take the precaution of doing something
I took the precaution of insuring my camera.
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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