caveat
ca·ve·at/ˈkæviɑt/noun, verb
caveat is spelled C-A-V-E-A-T: 6 letters and 3 syllables (ca·ve·at). It appears 1.4 times per million words in written English, the 23,835th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, caveat means “A warning” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of caveat is caveats.
How many letters and syllables are in caveat?
| Letters | 6: C-A-V-E-A-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: ca·ve·at |
| In writing | 1.4 times per million words; the 23,835th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is caveat?
Caveat appears 1.4 times per million words in written English, the 23,835th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce caveat?
- UK /ˈkævɪæt/
- UK /ˈkeɪ-/
- US /ˈkæviɑt/
Caveat has 3 syllables, split ca·ve·at in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-uk-caveat.ogg, En-au-caveat.ogg, En-us-caveat.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with caveat?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as caveat (/æviɑt/).
Spelled with the same letters in another order: vacate.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of caveat
- caveats plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- caveating participle, present
- caveated participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does caveat mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A warning.
There is at least one caveat in cultivation: you’ll have to stick to only one discipline, such as that according to Bhaiṣajyaguru, the Medicine Buddha.
- 2
A qualification or exemption.
He gave his daughter some hyacinth bulbs with the caveat that she plant them in the shade.
- 3
A formal objection.
- 4
A formal notice of interest in land under a Torrens land-title system.
- 5
A notice requesting a postponement of a court proceeding.
verb
- 1
To qualify a statement with a caveat or proviso.
- 2
To formally object to something.
- 3
To lodge a formal notice of interest in land under a Torrens land-title system.
- 4
datedTo issue a notice requesting that proceedings be suspended.
- 5
obsoleteTo warn or caution against some event.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Caveat in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | avertissement |
| German | Vorbehalt, Warnung , Ausnahme , Einspruch, Widerspruch |
| Portuguese | advertência, aviso, reserva , ressalva , notificação |
| Spanish | advertencia, aviso, reserva , condición, salvedad , notificación |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does caveat come from?
Learned borrowing from Latin caveat (“may he/she/it beware”), third-person singular present active subjunctive of caveō (“to beware of”). Doublet of show, both ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kewh₁- (“to heed, look, feel, take note of”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).