caveat emptor

[ kav-ee-aht emp-tawr, -at, kah-vee-, key-; Latin kah-we-aht emp-tohr ]
See synonyms for caveat emptor on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. let the buyer beware: the principle that the seller of a product cannot be held responsible for its quality unless it is guaranteed in a warranty.

Origin of caveat emptor

1
Borrowed into English from Latin around 1515–25

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use caveat emptor in a sentence

  • At such times one would do well to remember the old words caveat emptor.

    Oriental Rugs | Walter A. Hawley

British Dictionary definitions for caveat emptor

caveat emptor

/ (ˈɛmptɔː) /


noun
  1. the principle that the buyer must bear the risk for the quality of goods purchased unless they are covered by the seller's warranty

Origin of caveat emptor

1
Latin: let the buyer beware

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for Caveat emptor

Caveat emptor

[ (kav-ee-aht, kah-vee-aht emp-tawr) ]


Latin for “Let the buyer beware.” It means that a customer should be cautious and alert to the possibility of being cheated: “Caveat emptor is the first rule of buying a used car.”

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.