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collateral

/kəˈlætəɹəl/adjective, noun

collateral is spelled C-O-L-L-A-T-E-R-A-L: 10 letters and 4 syllables. It appears 4.6 times per million words in written English, the 11,870th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, collateral means “Parallel, in the same vein, side by side” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in collateral?

Letters10: C-O-L-L-A-T-E-R-A-L
Syllables4 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing4.6 times per million words; the 11,870th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How common is collateral?

Collateral appears 4.6 times per million words in written English, the 11,870th 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 collateral?

  • /kəˈlætəɹəl/

Collateral has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-collateral.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Wodencafe-collateral.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Forms of collateral

  • collaterals plural

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does collateral mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

adjective

  1. 1

    Parallel, in the same vein, side by side.

  2. 2

    Corresponding; accompanying, concomitant.

  3. 3

    Being aside from the main subject, target, or goal.

    collateral damage

  4. 4

    Of an indirect ancestral relationship, as opposed to lineal descendency.

    a collateral descendant

  5. 5

    Relating to a collateral in the sense of an obligation or security.

  6. 6

    Expensive to the extent of being paid through a loan.

  7. 7

    Coming or directed along the side.

    collateral pressure

  8. 8

    Acting in an indirect way.

noun

  1. 1

    A security or guarantee (usually an asset) pledged for the repayment of a loan if one cannot procure enough funds to repay.

  2. 2

    archaicA collateral (not linear) family member.

  3. 3

    A branch of a bodily part or system of organs.

    Besides the arteries blood streams through numerous veins we call collaterals.

  4. 4

    Printed materials or content of electronic media used to enhance sales of products (short form of collateral material).

  5. 5

    A thinner blood vessel providing an alternate route to blood flow in case the main vessel becomes occluded.

  6. 6

    archaicA contemporary or rival.

  7. 7

    An instance of hitting two or more targets, often enemy players, with a single shot, usually when they are lined up behind each other.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

How do you abbreviate collateral?

Wiktionary records one abbreviation of collateral: collat.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Collateral in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchcollatéral (parallel, along the same vein), indirect (acting indirectly), nantissement, gage (security or guarantee), collatérale (thinner blood vessel)
Germannebeneinanderliegend, benachbart (parallel, along the same vein), Neben-, Bei-, begleitend, Begleit- (corresponding, accompanying)
Portuguesecolateral (parallel, along the same vein), garantia (security or guarantee)
Spanishprenda, aval, fianza (security or guarantee), colateral (thinner blood vessel)

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 collateral come from?

Recorded since c.1378, from Old French, from Medieval Latin collaterālis, from Latin col- (“together with”) (a form of con-) + the stem of latus (“side”). By surface analysis, col- + lateral.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after collateral