Cautiousness: English Vocabulary List

to start acting in a risky way without caring about its consequences

"I threw caution to the wind and bought the car."

"She threw caution to the wind and quit her secure job to travel around the world for a year."

used to advise someone to proceed with caution or be careful with something

"Easy does it — that box is very fragile."

"Easy does it with the restructuring — rushing the process could seriously damage staff morale."

to consider all the possible outcomes of one's action before doing it

"You should always look before you leap."

"My father always told me to look before I leap and think carefully about the consequences of my actions."

constantly paying attention to a person or thing to prevent a problem, danger, etc.

"Always be on the lookout for danger."

"The police are on the lookout for a suspect who was seen near the crime scene last night."

to act in a careful manner to prevent any possible risks from happening

"You should play it safe always."

"Given the unpredictable weather conditions, the hikers decided to play it safe and postponed their mountain trip."

to be prepared to handle things properly in case of danger or unpleasant events

"Keep your wits about you in the big city."

"Driving in heavy fog requires you to keep all your wits about you because the conditions are extremely dangerous."

to be extra cautious about how one behaves or talks to avoid making someone offended or upset

"I am walking on eggshells around my angry boss."

"After the argument everyone in the office had to walk on eggshells around the boss because he was very angry."

to closely watch a person or thing, particularly in order to make sure they are safe

"Keep an eye on the kids."

"Please keep an eye on the oven while I step out to answer the door for a moment."

to make a person be constantly worried about or ready for any possible danger or threat

"My boss keeps me on toes."

"The demanding nature of the job kept the new intern on her toes at all times."

to decide not to deal with a problem directly out of the fear that it may make things worse

"We are tiptoeing around the topic of layoffs."

"We have to tiptoe around the sensitive issue of layoffs because nobody wants to cause panic."

to pay close attention to how to talk to someone or behave toward them because they can become offended or upset easily

"We tiptoe around dad when he is in a bad mood."

"The employees have to tiptoe around their manager because he gets offended by the smallest criticism or suggestion."

to stop being involved with a person or thing that might cause problems for one

"She dropped him like a hot potato."

"As soon as the scandal broke his friends dropped him like a hot potato and pretended not to know him."

to closely examine or assess the condition of something, particularly a vehicle or machinery

"I am just kicking the tires, not buying today."

"The customer spent an hour kicking the tires on the car but did not buy anything in the end."

to support both sides in a competition or conflict in order to protect oneself against loss

"He hedged his bets by applying to many colleges."

"The smart investor hedged his bets by putting his money into several different companies instead of just one."

used to indicate that someone has been warned or informed about something

"The team is on notice to improve their performance."

"The lazy employee was put on notice that his job would be at risk if his performance did not improve."

an observation that is done very carefully

"Use your eagle eye."

"The detective's eagle eye spotted the crucial clue that everyone else had missed."