Meaning & use
safety blanket
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A blanket or soft object that a young child holds to feel calm and secure.
Grammar: Countable: a child may have one safety blanket or several.
Patterns
- a child's safety blanket
- hold a safety blanket
- carry a safety blanket around
He won't sleep without his safety blanket.
She carried her safety blanket everywhere until she started school.
The toddler dropped his safety blanket in the supermarket and cried.
nouncountablefigurative
Something that gives a person a feeling of security when they face risk or change.
Grammar: Often used with 'a' or in the plural; common in phrases like 'as a safety blanket'.
Patterns
- use something as a safety blanket
- a financial safety blanket
- a safety blanket for someone
For many workers, the savings account is a safety blanket.
He keeps his old job as a safety blanket while the new business grows.
Having her parents nearby is a safety blanket for her.
Word forms
| plural | safety blankets |
|---|
Common combinations
- a child's safety blanket
- The child's safety blanket was washed so often it fell apart.
- hold a safety blanket
- She held her safety blanket tightly during the storm.
- use something as a safety blanket
- He uses his savings as a safety blanket.
- a financial safety blanket
- Insurance acts as a financial safety blanket for the family.
- give someone a safety blanket
- The steady salary gives her a safety blanket while she studies.
Synonyms and how they differ
- security blanket
- The more common American term for the same idea, used both for the child's blanket and the figurative comfort.
- comforter
- British English for a soft object a baby holds; it names the object itself rather than the feeling of security.
- cushion
- Used figuratively for money or support that softens a shock, but it does not suggest the emotional comfort of a blanket.
Word family
Commonly confused: safety blanket or security blanket?
safety blanket vs security blanket
This is the usual term in American English; 'safety blanket' is a close variant and is understood everywhere.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'safety blanket' in its figurative sense?
Choose one answer.
'Safety blanket' is figurative when it means something that gives security, such as savings; the other options all describe a real blanket for a child.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “safety blanket”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.