【每日一词】 caveat - n. <正式>警告，限制性条款；<法律>预告登记（尤指遗嘱检验中，非告知本人而不得进行某行为的通知）[复数 caveats ]

Definition:

1a: a warning enjoining one from certain acts or practices // a caveat against unfair practices

1b: an explanation to prevent misinterpretation

1c: a modifying or cautionary detail to be considered when evaluating, interpreting, or doing something

The driving instructor gave his students this caveat: if you are driving under the speed limit, stay in the far right lane.

2: a legal warning to a judicial officer to suspend a proceeding until the opposition has a hearing

Examples of caveat in a Sentence

Sound great? There's just one caveat: Knowledge about how genes work is still in the scientific Stone Age.

—Andrea Knox, Chicago Tribune, 4 Aug. 2000

We'll add a caveat of our own for parents: After your kids walk through 17,500 gal. of swirling water, they're not going to be satisfied running through the lawn sprinkler.

—Jim Wilson, Popular Mechanics, July 1999

But the youthquake in the new economy comes with a caveat that also may begin applying to politics. If you're inexperienced and you want a big job, you'd better be smart as hell.

—Jonathan Alter, Newsweek, 22 Nov. 1999

… a cluster bomb can destroy objects over a wider area, with the important caveat that it is effective only if the bomblets have sufficient destructive power on their own.

—Norman Friedman, Desert Victory, 1991

His investment advice comes with a caveat: that the stock market is impossible to predict with absolute accuracy.

Recent Examples on the Web

Experts say there is one important caveat to the research, which was published in the American Psychological Association’s Psychology and Aging journal.

—Elizabeth Robinson, NBC News, 23 Apr. 2024

And crucial caveats should always be included, since withholding them creates the illusion of certainty.

—David V. Gioe, Foreign Affairs, 23 Apr. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'caveat.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.