safe word

[ seyf wurd ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

a word previously agreed upon for use as a signal during sex, especially sex involving bondage, dominance, or sadism, to let one’s partner know that they should stop what they are doing.
a word previously agreed upon for use in any consensual but risky or potentially overwhelming situation, to call for help or take oneself out of the action:
If you like scare mazes you’ll love the House of Horror—but if it becomes too much, shout the safe word and a staff member will get you out ASAP.
During labor, my safe word to say that I truly needed and wanted an epidural was “snowshoe.”
a word previously agreed upon to indicate that one is not in danger, that someone can be trusted, etc.:
When the alarm prompts our monitoring center to call you, if you don’t answer with your safe word we’ll alert the police that you’re in danger.
Use our safe word “penguin” when you pick up my son from school, or he won’t go with you.
a term that can be used without alienating, upsetting, or alarming someone else or people in general:
She may have been a bit radical, but she finally made “socialism” a safe word in politics.

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Word History and Origins

Origin of safe word¹

First recorded in 1670–80; 1985–90 safe word fordef 1

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

And now, according to new reporting in the New York Times, Danielle Diettrich Hegseth, his former sister-in-law, “submitted a sworn statement to senators on Tuesday that accused Mr. Hegseth … of being so ‘abusive’ toward his second wife that she once hid in a closet from him and had a safe word to call for help if she needed to get away from him.”

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But what’s intriguing about “Babygirl,” in which the notion of a safe word doesn’t emerge until the halfway mark, is its interest in depicting characters who are not experienced practitioners of such power dynamics.

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Romy goes on to say: “It’s not about a safe word or a safe place or consent or the kink… there has to be danger. Things have to be at stake.”

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Trust is an aphrodisiac in “Safe Word.”

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Josiah Wise, who records as serpentwithfeet, promises that “The safe word is me” and “I’m your shelter,” while adding that he’s “insatiable,” in “Safe Word.”

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safety valve saffian

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