Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- intransitive verb To be on guard against; be cautious of.
- intransitive verb To be cautious; exert caution.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To be wary or cautious; be on one's guard; exercise care or vigilance: properly two words, be ware, consisting of the infinitive or imperative of be with the adjective ware: followed by of, expressed or understood, with the force of ‘against,’ ‘in regard to’: as, beware of evil associations; beware how you step; “beware the bear,”
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- transitive verb obsolete To avoid; to take care of; to have a care for.
- intransitive verb To be on one's guard; to be cautious; to take care; -- commonly followed by
of orlest before the thing that is to be avoided. - intransitive verb obsolete To have a special regard; to heed.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb defective, transitive, intransitive To use
caution ,pay attention (to) (if intransitive, construed with of).
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb be on one's guard; be cautious or wary about; be alert to
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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In my opinion, buyer beware is a relevant warning EVERY time I bust out my wallet.
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Caveat emptor [let the buyer beware] is the only motto going, and the worst proverb that ever came from dishonest stony-hearted Rome.
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When voting time comes around again beware of the Tsunami.
RNC official resigns 2009
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"Let the buyer beware" is an old phrase worth remembering.
Obama campaign seeks investigation of unofficial Web sites 2008
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Shaykh said to him, ‘O Janshah, take the keys of the castle and solace thyself with exploring all its apartments and viewing whatever be therein, but as regards such a room, beware and again beware of opening its door; and if thou gainsay me and open it and enter there, through nevermore shalt thou know fair fortune.’
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They resort to this place on the first day of every month; and thou must take seat here and watch for them; and when thou seest them coming hide thee near the pavilion sitting where thou mayst see them, without being seen of them, and beware, again beware lest thou show thyself, or we shall all lose our lives.
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"Buyer beware" is the watch word that we should live by.
Archive 2006-10-01 William "Papa" Meloney 2006
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"Buyer beware" is the watch word that we should live by.
In response to Doug Karr: Protecting Software and Customers from Counterfeiters? William "Papa" Meloney 2006
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“Whenas this door is opened will conquer this country a raid of the Arabs, after the likeness of the figures here depicted; wherefore beware, and again beware of opening it.”
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[1] In hunting dialect the warning "'ware" or "beware" is shortened to
Lippincott's Magazine, Vol. 26, August, 1880 of Popular Literature and Science Various
hernesheir commented on the word beware
Is beware some sort of computer program I should avoid too?
January 5, 2009
vanishedone commented on the word beware
Just keep aware of it.
January 5, 2009