Safeword

noun, verb

noun, verb ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A word used in (especially sadomasochistic) sexual practices to unambiguously indicate that a participant actually desires the activity to cease and is not merely feigning a lack of consent.

    "Likewise, a top's ability to respond to your safeword is what makes her a safe partner."

Verb
  1. 1
    To stop a sex act by using a safeword.

    "Like it's kind of in my head that maybe I could surprise him, like Eddie said, you know, before I flip out and safeword."

Example

More examples

"A safeword is a pre-agreed word to signal when a participant wants to stop or slow down. The words "Stop", "No", and "Red" are the popular ones."

Etymology

From safe + word.

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