See err on the side of caution in All languages combined, or Wiktionary
Download JSON data for err on the side of caution meaning in English (4.5kB)
{
"forms": [
{
"form": "errs on the side of caution",
"tags": [
"present",
"singular",
"third-person"
]
},
{
"form": "erring on the side of caution",
"tags": [
"participle",
"present"
]
},
{
"form": "erred on the side of caution",
"tags": [
"participle",
"past"
]
},
{
"form": "erred on the side of caution",
"tags": [
"past"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "*"
},
"expansion": "err on the side of caution (third-person singular simple present errs on the side of caution, present participle erring on the side of caution, simple past and past participle erred on the side of caution)",
"name": "en-verb"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "verb",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
"parents": [
"Entries with incorrect language header",
"Entry maintenance"
],
"source": "w"
}
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1867 January 15, “The Impeachment of the President—Probabilities and Possibilities”, in New York Times, page 4",
"text": "They are all zealous to the last degree in support of the extreme policy. . . . They certainly will not err on the side of caution.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1976 Oct. 29, James J. Kilpatrick, \"Bureaucracy Infects Drug Industry,\" St. Petersburg Independent/Washington Star Syndicate, p. 23-A (retrieved 1 Oct 2008)",
"text": "In any uncertain situation, government tends to err on the side of caution and delay."
},
{
"ref": "2008 September 17, Kara Gammell, “Cash in on the high interest rates”, in The Telegraph, UK, retrieved 2008-10-01",
"text": "But many savers are more concerned with the safety of their deposits and are even spreading their money over several institutions to err on the side of caution.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"To act in the least risky manner in a situation in which one is uncertain about the consequences."
],
"id": "en-err_on_the_side_of_caution-en-verb-zYxSjeMJ",
"links": [
[
"risky",
"risky"
],
[
"uncertain",
"uncertain"
],
[
"consequences",
"consequences"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(idiomatic) To act in the least risky manner in a situation in which one is uncertain about the consequences."
],
"related": [
{
"word": "abundance of caution"
},
{
"word": "better safe than sorry"
},
{
"word": "err on the side of"
},
{
"english": "= err on the side of caution when judging someone else's character or motives",
"word": "give the benefit of the doubt"
},
{
"word": "on the safe side"
}
],
"tags": [
"idiomatic"
],
"translations": [
{
"code": "ar",
"lang": "Arabic",
"sense": "to act in the least risky manner",
"word": "تتوخى الحيطة والحذر"
},
{
"code": "ar",
"lang": "Arabic",
"sense": "to act in the least risky manner",
"word": "تأخذ بأسباب الحيطة والحذر"
},
{
"code": "az",
"lang": "Azerbaijani",
"sense": "to act in the least risky manner",
"word": "ehtiyatlı olmaq"
},
{
"code": "az",
"lang": "Azerbaijani",
"sense": "to act in the least risky manner",
"word": "ehtiyatla iş görmək"
},
{
"code": "az",
"lang": "Azerbaijani",
"sense": "to act in the least risky manner",
"word": "ehtiyatkaranə davranmaq"
},
{
"code": "nl",
"lang": "Dutch",
"sense": "to act in the least risky manner",
"word": "het zekere voor het onzekere nemen"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "to act in the least risky manner",
"word": "olla ottamatta turhia riskejä"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "to act in the least risky manner",
"word": "olla varovainen"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "to act in the least risky manner",
"word": "olla ylivarovainen"
},
{
"code": "nb",
"lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
"sense": "to act in the least risky manner",
"word": "ta sine forholdsregler"
},
{
"code": "nb",
"lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
"sense": "to act in the least risky manner",
"tags": [
"archaic"
],
"word": "prekavere seg"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "to act in the least risky manner",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "zachowywać ostrożność"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "to act in the least risky manner",
"tags": [
"perfective"
],
"word": "zachować ostrożność"
},
{
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"sense": "to act in the least risky manner",
"word": "ta det säkra före det osäkra"
}
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"audio": "en-au-err on the side of caution.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/a/a4/En-au-err_on_the_side_of_caution.ogg/En-au-err_on_the_side_of_caution.ogg.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a4/En-au-err_on_the_side_of_caution.ogg",
"tags": [
"Australia"
],
"text": "Audio (AU)"
}
],
"word": "err on the side of caution"
}
{
"forms": [
{
"form": "errs on the side of caution",
"tags": [
"present",
"singular",
"third-person"
]
},
{
"form": "erring on the side of caution",
"tags": [
"participle",
"present"
]
},
{
"form": "erred on the side of caution",
"tags": [
"participle",
"past"
]
},
{
"form": "erred on the side of caution",
"tags": [
"past"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "*"
},
"expansion": "err on the side of caution (third-person singular simple present errs on the side of caution, present participle erring on the side of caution, simple past and past participle erred on the side of caution)",
"name": "en-verb"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "verb",
"related": [
{
"word": "abundance of caution"
},
{
"word": "better safe than sorry"
},
{
"word": "err on the side of"
},
{
"english": "= err on the side of caution when judging someone else's character or motives",
"word": "give the benefit of the doubt"
},
{
"word": "on the safe side"
}
],
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
"English entries with incorrect language header",
"English idioms",
"English lemmas",
"English multiword terms",
"English terms with audio links",
"English terms with quotations",
"English verbs"
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1867 January 15, “The Impeachment of the President—Probabilities and Possibilities”, in New York Times, page 4",
"text": "They are all zealous to the last degree in support of the extreme policy. . . . They certainly will not err on the side of caution.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1976 Oct. 29, James J. Kilpatrick, \"Bureaucracy Infects Drug Industry,\" St. Petersburg Independent/Washington Star Syndicate, p. 23-A (retrieved 1 Oct 2008)",
"text": "In any uncertain situation, government tends to err on the side of caution and delay."
},
{
"ref": "2008 September 17, Kara Gammell, “Cash in on the high interest rates”, in The Telegraph, UK, retrieved 2008-10-01",
"text": "But many savers are more concerned with the safety of their deposits and are even spreading their money over several institutions to err on the side of caution.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"To act in the least risky manner in a situation in which one is uncertain about the consequences."
],
"links": [
[
"risky",
"risky"
],
[
"uncertain",
"uncertain"
],
[
"consequences",
"consequences"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(idiomatic) To act in the least risky manner in a situation in which one is uncertain about the consequences."
],
"tags": [
"idiomatic"
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"audio": "en-au-err on the side of caution.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/a/a4/En-au-err_on_the_side_of_caution.ogg/En-au-err_on_the_side_of_caution.ogg.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a4/En-au-err_on_the_side_of_caution.ogg",
"tags": [
"Australia"
],
"text": "Audio (AU)"
}
],
"translations": [
{
"code": "ar",
"lang": "Arabic",
"sense": "to act in the least risky manner",
"word": "تتوخى الحيطة والحذر"
},
{
"code": "ar",
"lang": "Arabic",
"sense": "to act in the least risky manner",
"word": "تأخذ بأسباب الحيطة والحذر"
},
{
"code": "az",
"lang": "Azerbaijani",
"sense": "to act in the least risky manner",
"word": "ehtiyatlı olmaq"
},
{
"code": "az",
"lang": "Azerbaijani",
"sense": "to act in the least risky manner",
"word": "ehtiyatla iş görmək"
},
{
"code": "az",
"lang": "Azerbaijani",
"sense": "to act in the least risky manner",
"word": "ehtiyatkaranə davranmaq"
},
{
"code": "nl",
"lang": "Dutch",
"sense": "to act in the least risky manner",
"word": "het zekere voor het onzekere nemen"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "to act in the least risky manner",
"word": "olla ottamatta turhia riskejä"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "to act in the least risky manner",
"word": "olla varovainen"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "to act in the least risky manner",
"word": "olla ylivarovainen"
},
{
"code": "nb",
"lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
"sense": "to act in the least risky manner",
"word": "ta sine forholdsregler"
},
{
"code": "nb",
"lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
"sense": "to act in the least risky manner",
"tags": [
"archaic"
],
"word": "prekavere seg"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "to act in the least risky manner",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "zachowywać ostrożność"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "to act in the least risky manner",
"tags": [
"perfective"
],
"word": "zachować ostrożność"
},
{
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"sense": "to act in the least risky manner",
"word": "ta det säkra före det osäkra"
}
],
"word": "err on the side of caution"
}
This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-05-05 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-05-02 using wiktextract (f4fd8c9 and c9440ce). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.
If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.