Collateral Meaning
/kəˈlætəɹəl/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjParallel, in the same vein, side by side.
adjCorresponding; accompanying, concomitant.
Sentence Examples
We'll use the house as collateral so we can borrow some money.
That's only collateral damage.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
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CEFR Practice Quiz
The bank required the house as ____ before approving the large loan.
Word Origin & History
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.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and medial collateral ligament (MCL) are torn and Vonn has a lateral fracture of the tibial plateau, the upper end of the tibia or shin bone."
— 2013 February 6, Jen Christiensen, “Vonn’s injury ‘career-delayer,’ not ‘career ender’”, in CNN:
"Yet the attempt may give / Collateral interest to this homely tale."
— 1814, William Wordsworth, The Excursion:
"That he [Atterbury] was altogether in the wrong on the main question, and on all the collateral questions springing out of it, […] is true."
— 1878, Thomas Babington Macaulay, “Francis Atterbury”, in Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition:
"The pure blood all descends from five collateral lines called Al-Khamsah (the Cinque)."
— 1885, Richard Francis Burton, The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, volume 5:
"collateral light"
— c. 1604–1605 (date written), William Shakespeare, “All’s Well, that Ends Well”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i]:
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CEFR Practice Quiz
The bank required the house as ____ before approving the large loan.