collateral: Meaning and Definition of
col•lat•er•al
Pronunciation: (ku-lat'ur-ul), [key]
— n.
- security pledged for the payment of a loan: He gave the bank some stocks and bonds as collateral for the money he borrowed.
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- a subordinate or accessory part.
- a side branch, as of a blood vessel or nerve.
- Seecollateral circulation.
- a relative descended from the same stock, but in a different line.
—adj.
- accompanying; auxiliary: He received a scholarship and collateral aid.
- additional; confirming: collateral evidence; collateral security.
- secured by collateral: a collateral loan.
- aside from the main subject, course, etc.; secondary: These accomplishments are merely collateral to his primary goal.
- descended from the same stock, but in a different line; not lineal: A cousin is a collateral relative.
- pertaining to those so descended.
- situated at the side: a collateral wing of a house.
- situated or running side by side; parallel: collateral ridges of mountains.
- standing side by side.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.