collateral

B2 Topic:Money & Finance

US /kəˈlætərəl/ UK /kəˈlætərəl/ See IPA manual

Freq #9739

Meanings

1

noun
property or another valuable asset pledged as security for repayment of a loan

They used the house as collateral for a business loan.
2

adj
additional or secondary to the main matter, often as an unintended consequence

The strike caused collateral disruption to nearby rail services.
3

adj
serving to support, confirm, or corroborate something

The historian found collateral evidence in a merchant's private letters.
4

adj
situated alongside something or related through a side branch rather than a direct line

The archive traces several collateral branches of the family.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · property or another... security pledge

2 adj · additional or secondary to... secondary ancillary incidental

3 adj · serving to support,... corroborative supporting confirmatory

4 adj · situated alongside... parallel indirectnonlineal

Opposites

primary direct linealunsecured

Word family

Derived forms collateralizecollateralizationcollaterally

Related forms lateral mortgage loan securitycollateral damage

Common collocations

collateral damage Adjective + noun

Etymology

From Medieval Latin collateralis, from col- (a form of com-, "together with") + lateralis ("of the side"), from latus ("side"). The earliest English adjective meant "side by side" or "indirect." The finance noun arose from collateral security: property pledged in addition to the borrower's main obligation.

Topics

Money & Finance

External links

# collateral

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** noun, adj
**IPA (US):** /kəˈlætərəl/
**IPA (UK):** /kəˈlætərəl/
**Frequency rank:** 9739

## Meanings
1. property or another valuable asset pledged as security for repayment of a loan
2. additional or secondary to the main matter, often as an unintended consequence
3. serving to support, confirm, or corroborate something
4. situated alongside something or related through a side branch rather than a direct line

## Examples
- They used the house as collateral for a business loan.
- The strike caused collateral disruption to nearby rail services.
- The historian found collateral evidence in a merchant's private letters.
- The archive traces several collateral branches of the family.

## Synonyms
- security
- pledge
- secondary
- ancillary
- supporting

## Antonyms
- primary
- direct
- lineal
- unsecured

## Derived Forms
- collateralize
- collateralization
- collaterally

## Related Forms
- lateral
- mortgage
- loan
- security
- collateral damage

## Etymology
From Medieval Latin collateralis, from col- (a form of com-, "together with") + lateralis ("of the side"), from latus ("side"). The earliest English adjective meant "side by side" or "indirect." The finance noun arose from collateral security: property pledged in addition to the borrower's main obligation.

## Topics
- Money & Finance

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