Collateral

//kəˈlætəɹəl// adj, noun

adj, noun ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A security or guarantee (usually an asset) pledged for the repayment of a loan if one cannot procure enough funds to repay. countable, uncountable

    ""The decline in the quality of eligible collateral is a grave problem. The ECB is now buying corporate bonds that are close to junk, and the haircuts can barely deal with a one-notch credit downgrade. The reputational risk of such actions by a central bank would have been unthinkable in the past.""

  2. 2
    a security pledged for the repayment of a loan wordnet
  3. 3
    A collateral (not linear) family member. archaic, countable, uncountable
  4. 4
    A branch of a bodily part or system of organs. countable, uncountable

    "Besides the arteries blood streams through numerous veins we call collaterals."

  5. 5
    Printed materials or content of electronic media used to enhance sales of products (short form of collateral material). countable, uncountable
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  1. 6
    A thinner blood vessel providing an alternate route to blood flow in case the main vessel becomes occluded. countable, uncountable
  2. 7
    A contemporary or rival. archaic, countable, uncountable
Adjective
  1. 1
    Parallel, in the same vein, side by side. not-comparable

    "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."

  2. 2
    Corresponding; accompanying, concomitant. not-comparable

    "Yet the attempt may give / Collateral interest to this homely tale."

  3. 3
    Being aside from the main subject, target, or goal. not-comparable

    "collateral damage"

  4. 4
    Of an indirect ancestral relationship, as opposed to lineal descendency. not-comparable

    "a collateral descendant"

  5. 5
    Relating to a collateral in the sense of an obligation or security. not-comparable
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  1. 6
    Expensive to the extent of being paid through a loan. not-comparable
  2. 7
    Coming or directed along the side. not-comparable

    "collateral pressure"

  3. 8
    Acting in an indirect way. not-comparable

    "If by direct or by collateral hand They find us touched, we will our kingdom give […] To you in satisfaction."

  4. 9
    Having the phloem and xylem adjacent. not-comparable
Adjective
  1. 1
    occurring with or following as a consequence wordnet
  2. 2
    descended from a common ancestor but through different lines wordnet
  3. 3
    situated or running side by side wordnet
  4. 4
    additional but secondary; auxiliary; wordnet
  5. 5
    serving to support or corroborate wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
accompanyingparallelsecondaryaccessoryaccidentaccidental

Antonyms

All antonyms
lineal

Example

More examples

"We'll use the house as collateral so we can borrow some money."

Etymology

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.

Related phrases

collateral arterycollateral circulationcollateral damagecollateral energycollateral estoppelcollateral formcollateral materialcollateral reviewcollateral sciencecollateral securitycollateral veincollateral vessel

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.